Chapter 1
Hunith tells Merlin about his father when he is six, after he gets in a fight with one of the other boys, who taunted him about being a bastard. She cleans his scrapes and wounds as he asks her why they call him that.
"It's because your father and I were never wed." She tells him, wiping blood of his elbows.
"Why weren't you? Didn't you love each other?" Big blue eyes look at her, in childish curiosity. She smiles at him, suddenly feeling admiration for her son, only six, and yet so strong and mature.
"Of course we did. But he was a sorcerer…"
"Like me? He could do magic too?"
"Hush! Don't say things like that! But yes, he could do magic. And when the king's soldiers found him, they killed him. Before we could get married." She feels her eyes begin to water as the memories rise from the shadows of her mind.
A small hand brushes her tears away. Concerned blue eyes watch her, and she quickly shakes her head, before resuming her tale. "He was the bravest man I have ever known; he left this life that he was happy in, left me, so that the soldiers would kill only him, and not the entire village."
Merlin is quiet for a while, and then says, quietly, "So the King killed him?"
She nods. "Yes. But you must never blame the King, do you understand? Everyone has a reason for their actions, which we may never know. So promise me, my little bird, that you will never seek vengeance."
He looks at her solemnly, and then nods.
She smiles and hugs him, suddenly glad that she still has him, still has a piece of Balinor to love and cherish.
Arthur is five when he first hears of his mother, and is told that his duty as Prince is to take vengeance by purging the land of magic. He doesn't really understand what his father is talking about, but the look in the King's eyes scare him, and he stays silent, looking up at the King.
When the King finishes his speech, he kneels down to Arthur's level, looking him in the eye. "Arthur, today will be your first lesson in battle. From today, you shall be instructed in weapons by the Knights. Learn well, and make me proud.
Arthur nods determinedly, because his father only notices him when he does something good, and besides, these new lessons will mean he will have lesser free time. Because free time is only fun when there is someone to spend it with, and Arthur is alone.
When Arthur is six, his father calls him to the throne room, where he sees a dark-haired girl with fierce, sad eyes. "Arthur, this is Morgana, of the House of Gorlois. She is now my ward, and is therefore to be treated as your sister. Morgana, this is my son Arthur." And he doesn't realise until later, but this moment makes his whole world shift, because he has gained another person in his family.
Morgana is eight when her father dies, leaving her an orphan. She is taken to the huge, imposing castle, where she is told that she is now the King's ward, the new Lady of the Castle. She barely registers the first few hours of her stay there, and only comes out of her shell when she is alone in a big chamber, when she weeps and weeps. She only stops when she hears the door open hesitantly, and sees a blonde head look in. They stare at each other for a while, and then Arthur enters the room fully. He looks shyly at her, then smiles. "Father says you are my new sister. Why are you sad?"
She tilts her head. "Why do you think I'm sad?"
"Because I heard you weeping." Is the prompt reply.
She suddenly finds some anger in her soul at this nosy little boy. "How does it matter to you? It is not your business." The anger leaves as fast as it came when she sees the uncertainty in his blue eyes.
"Because you are my sister, and I'm supposed to always protect you. And I will, Morgana, I promise. I will always want you to be happy." His voice is steady, but it wavers uncertainly towards the end, as he grows uncomfortable under her gaze.
She scrutinises him for a while, then silently gets up and embraces him. He stiffens, confused, then his arms come up around her, and they clutch each other tightly, desperately. Arthur knows that now he will crave free time, any time, so that he can spend it with his sister, his best friend, the only person who truly cares for him in the castle.
Gwen is fourteen when the King decides that his ward must have a personal handmaiden. The head of Staff, a cheerful, beaming woman, picks Gwen for the job, saying that as they are only two years apart, she and the Lady will get along well. She meets Morgana for the first time that evening, when she is presented to both her and the King. Morgana is kind and gracious, and after a week of stammering and babbling alternately, she quickly becomes close to her Lady. By the end of the month they are close friends, because Morgana is lonely, especially now that Arthur has begun his training in earnest. Besides, a friendship with a boy was nothing compared to friendship with another girl.
When Merlin is sixteen, his best friend, Will, finds out about his magic. He spends a week locked in his house, refusing to come out, until his mother-who has spoken to Will, and understands that he will never do anything to hurt Merlin- drags him out and forces him to talk to Will, and they eventually emerge from the incident with a stronger friendship than before.
When Merlin is eighteen, there is a raid on the village; bandits. They take all the reserve food, and kill all who stop them. Hunith, unfortunately, is one of the casualties. Enraged, Merlin loses control of his abilities, killing all the bandits on the spot. He then spends an hour sobbing into Will's shoulder, both at the loss of his mother, and the deed he had been forced to do.
A week later, he decides to set out for Camelot, to his mother's brother, Gaius, in the hope that he would grant him shelter, and perhaps guidance. And the Threads of Destiny began humming, singing in joy.
Sorry if it seems rushed; I will probably become really busy soon, and I wanted to post this first. Also, due to time constraints, updates will be very sporadic. Sorry. That said, i thank all of you who read this. Please review and tell me what you think!
