Who We Are

Blue eyes looked at her, blue like the lake of Avalon at night. She had a throbbing headache but that didn't seem all that important considering.
"I'm glad to see you're awake." He said and it snapped her out of her trance. She took in his features in a heartbeat. He didn't look bad, quite handsome actually, but his hair was a mess. His most prominent features were his ears but the most remarkable were his cheekbones, it gave his face a kind of cuteness. She wanted to sit up but he put his hand against her shoulder and she noticed why, the throbbing in her head got worse.
"Easy there. You've taken a blow to the head, you need to rest." Magic didn't solve everything, it usually couldn't. The mind registered the blow and would think she was still hurt. One of the key pieces of healing with magic was to have the 'patient' watch it heal, then the mind would accept and follow suit. All her mind would need was a bit of time, everything would fall in to place in her subconscious. It surprised him she woke so quickly, mere minutes after he healed her. He hadn't even had time to clean the wounds yet.
"Who won?" She barely managed to utter the sentence and Merlin didn't even bother to answer it.
"Rest." He told her and through exhaustion sleep came to her rather quickly.

Merlin's head shot up at the sound of footsteps made by armoured boots. Slowly the secret warlock moved to the living and although the footsteps were getting closer, they didn't make him tense up. He knew his sister's step, also in armour, and this would either be a knight or a soldier. Lancelot popped in to give him the bucket of water he asked and asked if the girl had woken yet. The sorcerer explained the situation and with a gentle nod the knight left again. Merlin got a rag from one of the cabinets and dipped it in the bucket of water. He started with the back of her head, that's where the wound was. There wasn't much blood there and he dipped it in the water again before using it to remove the dirt from her cheeks.

She really was beautiful. He just couldn't resist and laid the rag aside to let his bare fingers caress her cheeks. Why on earth would anyone ever send her off to war? She must've been spirited, though. Her first question was about who won the battle. Usually it was-
Her eyes fluttered and he quickly retracted his hand, putting it on the dirty rag. She looked at him with a bright shade of green in her eyes.
"Where am I?" She asked as if she had read his thoughts. There was a fair chance that she was the enemy and, as such, would probably assume the very worst if he told her they were in Kingsbane.
"Near the border." He more or less avoided the question.
"Who won?" She repeated her earlier question and there was something in her eye that told him she was on to him.
'You want me to be your friend or you enemy?" He asked bluntly since that's what it boiled down to.
She sighed but continued. "Then at least tell me your name."
"Merlin." He replied and she caught herself unprepared. Friend or foe? Telling him her real name would probably be a mistake and she told him the first name that came to mind.
"Gwen." She more or less sighed and then followed an awkward silence. Neither knew what to say, especially since he refrained from answering her questions. Merlin didn't know how to go on either, the strays he usually rescued didn't or couldn't talk back.
"I should be getting home" Gwen tried to get up but Merlin put his hand on her shoulder again, just like with the headache.
"If you can sit upright for ten seconds, you can go." He told her and when she tried to sit up, she immediately fell back down because the pain kicked. Merlin gave it a sheepish smile, that's why they sent her off to war, most men didn't like stubborn women.
"Can I get you anything?" He offered. Being so worried about where she was and who had won, she hadn't noticed how hungry she really was.
"I'm famished." She said.
"I'll be just a minute then." He said as he left. There was no need to tell her not to wander off or leave the house, she couldn't even sit up. While he was gone, she wandered about her current predicament.

Defenceless and alone, that's how she'd describe her situation. She didn't know where she was, 'near the border' could be just about any border. The battle had passed and she didn't know who had won. Were her brother and father alright? A peasant found her but she didn't even remotely count herself lucky, she didn't really know who he was. Merlin seemed honest enough but his answers to her questions were just a bit too clever for a commoner. Who was to tell her he wouldn't come back with the authorities?

When he finally came back about quarter of an hour later, she pretended to be asleep. Merlin checked to see if she was asleep and lit the fire with a flint rather than magic. Tending to the wounded animals, and now a possible enemy, was part of his recklessness. Yet one thing he had been taught very well, that his magic had to be kept secret and it had made him a very cautious man. The smell of cooking began to fill the house and Gwen believed that perhaps she could trust him just a little bit. She could hear a bit of rustling and then his footsteps approaching her. His hand gently shook her and she played along.
"Still hungry?" He asked and, seeing two bowls on a nearby table, she nodded. Again she made the mistake of trying to sit up and fell back with a groan.
"Just a minute." He said as he quickly popped out the room. For a moment she believed he was going to spoon-feed her but that did not seem the case. He came back with a small flask and removed the lid before her.
"Smell." He told her as he held it before her nose. She took a whiff and recoiled at the ghastly smell, it almost made her think it was a children's game. He put the lid back on and put it in his pocket. She felt a bit light in her head and feared it might all have been an elaborate trap until Merlin helped her sit upright. Now there wasn't pain but just light-headedness.
"The dizziness will pass." He said as he put her hands on his arm and helped her get over to the table. The soup was decent enough, she's had worse from the kitchen staff back home though only on a very rare occasion. Filling her stomach, the dizziness began to wear off, perhaps that was all it really required. Merlin's mind was occupied by troublesome thoughts. How was he going to get her home? It was all too fair to assume that 'Gwen' wasn't her real name and she would never tell about home. Gwen took notice of his mind being elsewhere.

"Thank you." She broke the silence and was awarded for it with a smile from Merlin. "You're risking a lot with me, aren't you?" She asked.
"That's why we're leaving once you've changed your clothes." He told her and somewhere that did not quite compute. A lot of things just stopped making sense. She had been laying on a bed all day and the only one she had seen was Merlin. Did he live there by himself? The change of clothes was reasonable enough but she hadn't seen a woman yet. If her knowledge of 'common people' was accurate enough, someone his age should either be married or live with his mother. Why 'we'? Why was he coming along instead of opening the door and letting her be on her way?
"You have women's clothing?" She asked, forcing a humorous smile. Merlin gave it a sad smile, it was a preposterous idea, and then he turned serious.
"I don't live here. This house belong to a man who didn't want to fight in the war. The..." Merlin caught himself from saying Queen since that would be a dead giveaway. "Every 'no' was answered with execution until his own."
"Are you..." She didn't dare ask him if he was related but even the few words she managed to utter stated a question.
"No, I'm not." Merlin answered but it did seem to bother him. Gwen was disappointed and relieved, the relief was obvious but it still told nothing about him.
"Who do you blame for this, this war, this everything?" She asked knowing he might just brush it off again.
"Everyone. We can blame the King or Queen but few find it in themselves to care. Then it reaches their village, their home, their family and then they care." His words made her see who he was and it saddened her beyond
"It's not your fault." She sympathised with him but he wasn't amused to say the least.
"Don't believe you know what it's like to be me, not for a second!" Anger filled his voice. He hated pity, it resembled everything he ever got from the other nobles for being 'The Plain Prince'. They looked down on him and saying 'sorry' he could deal with but not the pity they gave which felt taunting. It's not your fault you don't have magic. It's not your fault you're not like your sister. If things had been the way they should've been then he might not have needed to.
"So you just blame everyone else?" Gwen countered. It wasn't the most wise thing to say, especially since her life might depend on it. But she couldn't stand people who thought themselves better than the rest of the world.
"I..." His voice croaked. " It's different. But everyone is to blame and I'm no exception." He got up from the table and moved to one of the adjacent rooms where she couldn't see him. She felt guilty for pushing him over the edge like that and didn't feel like eating anymore. She knew pain as she lost her mother before knowing her but that could hardly compare to losing someone to the war. Gwen was glad he didn't leave but in Merlin's mind, the crying Prince would receive far too much attention. This was a perfect example why he should've stuck to dealing with animals and not people, things would get too personal.


AN:

In case you didn't realize it, 'Gwen' is Morgana (I've only once used Morgana's name so far).
Not referring to Arthur and Uther from her perspective is deliberate.
I try to explain the world as the story progresses so lack of knowledge about the show won't interfere with the flow.