Title: The dream prince

Pairings: Merlin/Arthur

Rating: T

Warnings: slash, some violence (I'll warn you again in the chapters where it appears), angst, character deaths (not Arthur or Merlin), some innocent underage kisses (nothing serious until they are adults) and fluffy moments (after all it's kind of a fairytale). And this is unbeta'd, so any mistake is completely mine.

Summary: FairytaleAU. Merlin is a peasant warlock and Arthur is an oppressed prince. Both of them try to escape their destiny but it brings them together in the form of a lake and a lady who would make everything in her hand so that their dreams can become true. Merlin/Arthur slash.

Disclamer: All credits go to the creators of BBC Merlin and the Italian film 'Sorellina e il principe del sogno'.

Word count for this chapter: around 2,000

AN: Thanks for the followings and favourites! It makes me extremely happy. Unfortunately, that doesn't make me any faster so I fear from now one it will take me more than a week to update. Sorry for that, but I don't want to rush this fic. Anyway, here you have the fourth chapter. This one is shorter but more new characters are mentioned and they will play their part later in bringing Arthur and Merlin together. It also explains why Uther hates magic so much in this fic. Hope you like it!

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Chapter Four

The great hall of Camelot's castle was full of people. The king sat on a higher table on a dais with his wife, his son and some of his most trusted commanders and advisers, presiding over the rest of the long tables where more nobles and knights sat to celebrate the return of their beloved king, victorious in his crusade against magic.

Food and drink was brought in constantly by obedient servants that fulfilled the every need of the nobles present at the big feast. From roast pork to mead, everything was delicious as it should be in such a great celebration. The banquet had been going on for a while now and most people were already more than elated thanks to the euphoria of the moment and all the alcoholic drinks that had been served.

However, among the crowd of boisterous happy people there were worried faces too. The queen and prince of Camelot sat at each side of the king, hardly eating anything. In the lower tables, the old physician Gaius also sent them preoccupied glances. It would be obvious for anyone who took the time to look twice at them that neither wanted to be there. After the disastrous reunion, father and son hadn't said anything to each other and the queen didn't know what to do any more.

As the night dragged on the queen finally thought it was time for the show to start. Perhaps then she and her son would be able to retire to their chambers and spent a quiet night. Ygraine wanted time to think about her next movement to protect her son and for that she needed Uther to cool off a bit. There would be no point in trying to show him the advantages of being a literate person if he were too obsessed with the idea of his son being a little warrior. That's why, foreseeing Uther's temper, the queen had arranged beforehand for this show by a well-know group of comics and acrobats.

As they entered the great hall already doing tricks and juggling, all the people clapped and roared in delight at what they expected would be a spectacle worthy of a king. Among the performers where musicians, comedians, bards, a beautiful brown-skinned dancer in a purple provocative dress, a dwarf who did tricks and somersaults, a strong tall man who was able to lift his friend, who was a rather fat young man, and a shirtless black man who played with fire. As all of them walked around the different tables and impressed everyone with their antics or their skills, the king looked over them from his privileged position clapping and laughing merrily as if this were the best day of his life. He even sent an approving glance to his wife and she couldn't help but think that everything was going to be all right.

Her happiness, nevertheless, didn't last long. The pretty dancer approached the high table moving her hips sensually, which made the king roar louder and his son avert his gaze shyly. And with her the dwarf came too jumping around and humming happily. He noticed the prince's flushed face at the sight of such a beautiful woman and decided to play a little trick to amuse their majesties.

With encouraging words the little man promised the young prince to help him to court such a charming woman. The king found it extremely funny and seemed to be enjoying himself until the dwarf said that in order to conquer a lady you had to give them something beautiful. The inexperienced prince took what he had more at hand – an expensive ornate dagger he wore in his belt – and offered it to the smiling girl. The dwarf wasn't convinced of such a gift and with a fluid movement of his hand over the dagger, he transformed it instantly into a beautiful white flower.

The poor man didn't have time to tell the prince to offer it to the awaiting girl. The king immediately stood up and shouted, "What the hell have you done, you little monster!?" At that all the people in the room turned towards the high table with questioning looks. Even the music stopped as all eyes were fixed on the angry king, the surprised prince and the frightened dwarf.

"My lord?" was the only thing the paralysed man could say before the king took him by the front of his tunic and lifted him several inches.

The king ignored the murmurs of the crowd, the terrified glances of the other performers and even the pleading calls of his son and wife. "Was that magic, you little scum? How dare you? Magic is forbidden in my kingdom!" As in every time were magic was somehow involved or simply mentioned, the king seemed to have lost all perspective and got incredibly furious. He would have gone as far as hitting the poor dwarf if his son, Arthur, hadn't intervened.

"Father, please!" But it was Arthur's hand pulling his father arm that brought the king back from his frenzy and made him release his grip on the dwarf, who fell into the ground in a heap. "Please," the prince repeated. "It wasn't magic! It was just a stupid trick! He changed my dagger for this flower..." And the prince showed the flower to his father to prove there was nothing strange in it as the dwarf, a bit more recovered, showed him the dagger he had just swapped. "He was just really quick!"

Uther looked at his son dubiously as he tried to regain his senses, finally aware of the whole court looking at them. The true was that the mere suspicion of magic always put him like that. But he couldn't forget what happened all those years ago, how a lowly sorcerer had betrayed his father, how he had killed him and had almost destroyed the Pendragon family and gained a kingdom with just a flick of his hand. He had been very young at the time but he had learned the lesson. Magic was dangerous and his only way of dealing with it was trying to exterminate it before some damn sorcerer did the same to him. No one would snatch Camelot from him.

"Is this true?" he finally asked his son more calmly, but the venom still present in his tone.

"It wasn't magic, father," the boy nodded seriously and even with a bit of authority in his voice.

"Very well," the king conceded reluctantly as he took the white flower from his son and crushed it in his fist. "But if I ever found out you have protected a real sorcerer..." he said in his son's ear and the prince had to gulp at the rage contained in that threat. And he didn't doubt his father for a moment. His hate for magic blinded him so much he would be able to kill anyone in order to eradicate magic in his realm.

The king gave the dwarf and the dancer helping him up a last disdainful look before addressing his guests. "We can't forget magic users are monsters. And I don't want them in my kingdom. Neither magic users nor stupid performers who would play tricks too similar to magic as if that were nothing." He sent all the performers a hateful glance before announcing. "I gave you three days to leave my kingdom. If I ever find you within my lands again, you'll be executed." He searched for his second in command and ordered him, "Valiant! Take a few men and escort them out of the castle!"

The brute knight obeyed at once and with the help of a few more guards all of the performers, musicians and comedians left the great hall under the watchful eyes of their king. When the last one had left, the king directed his attention back to his guests and ordered everyone to continue with the feast before leaning down towards his wife and whispering in her ear, "And you, sweet Ygraine, I hope you won't be so lenient in such matters again in the future."

Without another word the king took his son's arm and left the great hall too using a side door, dragging his son with him. As soon as they reached a deserted corridor away from prying eyes the king exploded. "I don't want my son and heir to ever speak to me like that again!"

"But father..." the prince tried to defend himself. "The man wasn't doing anything wrong."

"How dare you question your father and king in front of everyone!" A new sparkle of anger was visible again in the king's cold grey gaze. "From now on you will do what I tell you to do, you will say what I tell you to say and you will think what I tell you to think. Is that understood?" The prince simply looked at the king in astonishment, his eyes going from his enraged father to his sad mother, who had appeared at the end of the corridor and was contemplating the scene sorrowfully.

"Like that nonsense of writing..." the king continued crying. "You're my son! Have you heard me?! You're a prince of Camelot! You have to be a warrior! Your time to be spoiled by your mother is over. From now on things are going to change. I'm going to make you change." Uther towered over him menacingly. "From tomorrow I'm going to make you a real man, a warrior worthy of being my son. I want to see you at sunrise in the training field." And with that he left.

Ygraine walked towards her beloved son slowly and embraced him tightly in a protective hug. She could just whisper, "It's going to be all right, my boy."

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Everything was quiet in the small hut. It was the middle of the night and all its inhabitants were peacefully sleeping. The calm was only broken by some claps of thunder and the sound of the wind that echoed outside the wooden dwelling. It would be thanks to the light that got through the windows every time the storm released a bolt of lightning that if a member of the family were awake, they would have noticed their guest wasn't asleep either.

Cornelius, as the old man had said his name was, had his eyes wide open, his light blue gaze glued to a candle near the pile of straw where he was supposed to be sleeping. A new bolt of lightning illuminated the room and then, when it was dark again, the dim light of that same candle was barely visible. The old man had ignited it with just a thought as his eyes had gone completely black for a second or, more precisely, he had lit it with his magic.

Without no one noticing it, the old man got up and with the candle in his hand he walked to the beds where mother and children rested. He looked briefly at the woman and then at some of her smaller children. The young girl was clearly an interesting one – his magic told him that much. However, in that small hut there was a higher prize. The prize he had come for. The oldest boy, Emrys.

Cornelius couldn't help but approach the young warlock to get a better look of his serene pretty face. It was even better than he may have expected. Not only he had found the mythical Emrys of the old prophecies, but he was far stronger, more compassionate, sweet and beautiful than he had ever imagined. And the best part was that he was so full of energy, of magic... The magic he needed to keep himself alive and evade death once more. The magic he wanted to be young again.

He even went as far as bending down to look closer at that incredible creature he hoped to possess soon. And so he whispered, "You'll be mine, Emrys."

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Thanks for reading!