AN: Hello! Sorry this took so long...

The one problem with writing two stories at once is that one of them will always be more popular, making it slightly more fun to write. Unfortunately for the people reading this one, The King of Hearts is doing spectacularly (for one of my stories) making it very difficult for me to focus on this story :(

But, enough excuses. The one thing I feel I really should say about this chapter is I did a very bad job of describing the magic mirror. It is a bit hard to explain, so I definitely recommend trying to at least watch that scene from the movie, as it is truly beautiful. It is at about fourteen minutes in if you want to watch that but not anything else and can't find the scene. It is also in the trailers briefly, so you would have to watch pretty carefully.

Anyhoo, I will try to work on this story more. I really want to write more dwarf stuff. Did anyone notice that there are seven dwarfs, but only five knights? Sorry, I'm just really proud of my dwarfs. If you can guess who the other two are, I will work twice as fast ;)

And, I don't own Merlin or Mirror Mirror. If I did Snow would definitely be a boy. It is high time we had a kids movie with a star-crossed homosexual couple. It would be AWESOME!

Chapter 2: Meeting with Destiny

Merlin traced the patterns on the scabbard of his father's dagger as he stared out his window and thought about what Alice had said. He knew she was right, he needed to help his people, but he didn't know where to start. He had been kept in the dark about the state of the kingdom ever since he had been declared too sick to take up the throne. From his window he could just barely see the outline of the houses in the town across the lake from the castle. It had been ages since he had been there. He wondered if the baker who had let him help knead the bread was still working, or the woodcarver who had made the beautiful carved dragon that had been his favorite toy for years, or the farmers who had let him pet their animals. He wondered if any of them remembered him, or if he had been forgotten with his parents. Lost in the memories of the past.

Well, Merlin thought, he was done with wondering. His parents had raised him to be a king, and he wasn't about to let them or his people down. He would find out what was going on, no matter what it took. Summoning all he courage, Merlin pulled a dark blue cloak out of his dresser, and, tying it around his neck, exited his room and made his way down towards one of the servant entrances. He knew the main gate would be guarded, and there was no way his step-father's men would let him get out. This was one of the times being friends with most of the serving staff really helped. He knew all the ways out of the castle, and most of them did not have guards stationed near them 24/7, so he was able to sneak out quite easily. Pulling his cloak tightly around his face, Merlin walked quickly down the path leading away from the castle and into the woods.

When Merlin was safely in the cover of the trees, he pulled off the hood of the cloak to get a better look at the forest around him. A smile spread across his face as he took in the beauty that surrounded him. He leaned his head back and took a deep breath, feeling freer than he had in years. As he continued down the path he noticed cardinals and winter wrens where fluttering along with him, whistling prettily in the background, and he was pretty sure he was being followed by a pair of white rabbits, a group of squirrels, and possibly a fox. He knew he had seen a flash of red, but he wasn't sure if it had actually been a fox or just a very low flying cardinal. He continued on, happy to be surrounded by such happy creatures. He grew slightly concerned when he noticed the animals had started disappearing. When the last of the chirruping stopped, Merlin heard a different noise. It sounded human, so he continued towards the noise, hoping that it wasn't one of his step-father's men. As he grew closer to the sound, he was able to discern that the noise was indeed a person, a person calling out for help. Grasping the dagger he rushed forwards, hoping that whoever was calling out was alright.

Back at the Castle…

Alined was exhausted. Threatening his stepson and avoiding the Lady Catrina's advances had really taken it out of him. When would that woman learn just how much better he was than her? Even though he knew he would never accept her proposal, he had to admit he was in a bit of a financial dilemma. If he wanted to keep on funding his lavish lifestyle he would need to find a new source of money, and soon. The people of this kingdom were not as rich as he had hoped they would be. Apparently the previous rulers had not had needs like he had, so they had not taken very much from their people, often accepting gifts instead of taxes. Most of the castle had been furnished with tacky furniture built by the local craftsmen in return for the protection the monarchy gave them. Alined had had all of that replaced as soon as he took control, filling the palace with new and beautiful accessories made by the finest craftsmen in the world. The only room he hadn't touched was the small chamber Merlin lived in. The young prince had absolutely refused to let him touch anything in his room. Alined had locked him in that room without food for two days for that little outburst, but had decided he wouldn't waste money on the ungrateful lout and had left the room the way it was.

The other big change that had been made to the castle after he moved in was in a small room that had been some type of closet in the royal chambers before. The room was dark, and the door had been made to look like another part of the wall. The only thing inside, was a large mirror. Alined entered that room now, whispering "Mirror, mirror, on the wall."

After he had spoken, he walked through the mirror, which rippled around him as if he was walking into a pool of water instead of hard glass. The familiar feeling of being submerged swept over him as he stepped onto the wooden dock waiting for him on the other side. It had taken him ages to get used to, but he was finally able to move from the position of the mirror's exit, lying flat in a serene lake, to standing on the dock without getting woozy. He paused for a moment, still completely dry even though he had just emerged from the water. He took a deep breath before walking forward, and into the first of the strange buildings at the end of the dock. They were both made of sticks, making them appear as large bird's nests more than houses. They were also both rounded, although the one in the back was almost flat and much taller than the one in front.

The walls of the first building were covered in mirrors, each offering a perfect reflection of him except the one in the back, which showed a slightly younger version of himself wearing all white and with strange, black eyes. He strode towards the strange mirror, yelling, "How dare the Lady Catrina. To think that she believes herself to be worthy of me."

"Interesting." The mirror-version of himself replied, tilting its head slightly.

"What?" Alined growled, pacing slightly inside the small building.

"Your response to her advances. You are getting old, and you will need money if you wish to keep living like you have been the last decade. Consider your options."

"Well this option has grey hair and smells awful. Can't you just magic-me up a chest of gold?"

"Everyone has some magic in them," the mirror replied enigmatically, "but very few discover it and learn to use it wisely. Of those few even less have to power to actually use it for the good of others, instead of selfishly wasting it on themselves. Trust me; I am, after all, merely a reflection of yourself, except I still have all my hair."

"You're going to be nothing but a pile of shards if you keep on talking like that." Alined threatened, running his hand through his thinning hair.

The mirror chuckled before saying, "Threaten all you like, you need me too much to harm me. If it wasn't for me you never would have gotten you position. You wouldn't have been able to get rid of the old king and marry his wife. And you certainly wouldn't have been able to suppress young Merlin's magic. He is strong, and one day you won't be able to stop him from taking what is rightfully his. My advice to you is to find someone rich and use them to maintain your power, before you turn so disgusting no one will lay eyes on you."

Alined growled and turned, walking back up the dock and through the mirror once more. He had been tempted to throw his shoe at the mirror, but he knew it had been right. He needed its powers to maintain control. And he would use them, no matter who he had to hurt if it would get him what he wanted.

Arthur was really sick of hanging from the tree. The only thing he was sicker of was the sound of Ethan's voice.

"Help!" Ethan shouted, for what felt like the millionth time.

"Would you please shut up?" Arthur replied repressing a shiver as a cold wind blew across his exposed chest.

"If I shut up no one will know we're here, Sire, so unless you have a better idea, I'm going to keep shouting. HELP!" Ethan's voice rang out. Arthur was beginning to think that the sound of Ethan's voice might actually be driving people away.

"You do realize your mouth is right next to my ear, don't you? I swear, when we get back to Camelot, I'm going to have you locked in the stocks for a week, or however long it takes for me to regain my hearing." Arthur grumbled.

"When someone comes because they heard me shouting, I will expect an apology. HELP!" Ethan said. "I could have been the carpenter's apprentice, but no. I just had to apply to be the prince's bloody manservant. HELP! I should have realized something was off when the last one looked like he would never be able to walk again. HELP!"

"What are you talking about? Rodger was perfectly fine when he left my services. He just got in a little argument with a bear, which was not my fault, seeing as he thought it would be a great idea to run off by himself after I expressly told him to remain by my side during the battle with the wyvern. Have you even stopped to consider that you might not be leading help to us by shouting? There could be other bandits in these woods"

Before Ethan could reply, Arthur heard a noise from the direction they had been heading. He shushed Ethan, and listened as carefully as possible as the noise got closer and closer. He twitched his body so that the ropes turned, letting him face the direction the that the noise was coming from just as a boy stumbled out from behind the trees, his long cloak trailing in the snow behind him. The boy looked to be about the same age as Arthur, but had dark hair and was quite skinny. Arthur cleared his throat and attempted to muster his most princely voice and said, "Hello young man, it would seem we are in need of your assistance, if you could cut us down it would be greatly appreciated."

Unfortunately, while Arthur was speaking, Ethan had also noticed the presence of the stranger and had said, in a much louder and pathetic voice, "Please, please, please help us. I'll do anything if you cut us down."

The boy didn't respond, instead panting and staring at them as if they were the strangest thing he had ever seen. Arthur used his limited mobility to thump Ethan in the back, getting him to quiet momentarily so he could say, "Are you stupid, I said cut us down!"

That seemed to get his attention, as he focused on Arthur and said, "Only if you say please."

Arthur glared at the boy and tried to block out Ethan's pleading both to him and the boy. The boy did not seem to be threatened by his glare, and merely raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. Arthur was pretty sure Ethan was about to go hoarse when he finally said, "Fine. Would you please cut us down?"

The boy smiled, pulled out a dagger, and said, "Of course, you big prat, all you had to do was ask." He then proceeded to walk over to where the rope was tied to the tree, and raised the blade high. Arthur began to try to order the boy to stop, but it was too late and the blade was brought through the rope, causing him and Ethan to collapse painfully in a pile.

"Oh! Sorry about that!" the boy called, rushing to help them up. "Is there anything I can do to h-"

Both Arthur and the boy froze once Arthur had gotten to his feet and was standing quite close to the dark-haired boy who had cut them down. There was something about this boy, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. But, now that they were both upright and facing each other, Arthur couldn't deny the fact that he was beautiful, in an ethereal sort of way. His skin was pale, almost the same color as the snow that surrounded him, and looked to be quite soft as well. His hair was pitch black, and reflected the sunlight so it appeared to be shining. And his eyes, oh his eyes. They were large and blue, but such a blue Arthur had never seen before. The closest he could think of was the time his father had taken him to the southern ocean, and the sun had been sparkling on the deep blue water, but even that was not enough to describe the blue orbs before him. His lips were full and pink, and Arthur couldn't help but imagine how they would feel pressed against his. The boy reached out a thin arm, brushing away a bit of snow that had stuck in Arthur's hair, and Arthur couldn't stop himself from leaning instinctively towards the long, elegant fingers. Unfortunately, Ethan was there to ruin the perfect moment as always, as he jutted in, extending his backside between them so the boy could cut away the ropes that tied his arms behind his back. The boy jumped back from the prince, and quickly moved to help Ethan free himself. Arthur smiled when he saw the boy's cheeks had blushed a pretty pink color and he looked as if he was quite flustered. Arthur was used to people being slightly flustered when around him, he was the prince, but he had never felt so completely tongue-tied when it had happened.

Once Ethan was freed the boy turned to cut off the ropes keeping Arthur's hands behind his back and asked, "What happened to you two?"

"We were attacked by seven dw-" Ethan began before Arthur pulled his hands free and elbowed him in the stomach, turned to the boy and finished the story, saying, "Seven bloodthirsty giants. I fought bravely, nearly had them at one point, but they cheated. Ethan here had run, of course, but they caught him quickly and brought him back. Once I was subdued they took our money, our food, and most of our clothes before tying us in this tree."

"Oh." The boy said, looking alarmed, although slightly skeptical, "That sounds awful. Well, I should be going, if you are both alright." The boy said. He appeared to be trying to look anywhere but Arthur's bare chest but was failing as his gaze kept flicking back down. Arthur shook his head quickly to regain his composure before saying, "Yes, we should as well. We are heading north."

A frown spread across the boys face as he said, "Oh, I'm heading south."

Arthur was about ready to change his plans and head back south just so he could spend more time with the strange, beautiful, boy when Ethan butt in saying, "Well, that really is too bad, but thank you so much for helping us. We really must be on our way."

"Of course. Goodbye." The boy said, before turning and heading down the way they had come. When Arthur didn't move, Ethan grabbed his arm and started pulling him back towards the road whispering, "There's a castle not far from here. We should go there and possibly get some proper clothes, your highness."

"I suppose you are right." Arthur said, still watching the boy continue away from them. He was about to turn away when the boy glanced back at him, a blush spreading across his cheeks once more as he was caught watching Arthur. He turned quickly, pulling the hood of his cloak back up over his head and walking slightly more quickly.

"He looked back!" Arthur whispered. "Did you see that, Ethan, he looked back!"

"Of course he did, Sire." Ethan grumbled. "Now, could you please move? I would really like to get out of this cold."

Arthur couldn't stop smiling as he followed Ethan back down the path towards the castle.