S5 + 9 years

1 year since the last chapter.

Amr = 9. Elaine = 6

I do believe one of my little OC's is ready for her first Pov chapter!

Chapter 10: The Last to Know

The children's accommodation had changed over the years, according to their number and age. Whilst still babies they slept in a small crib in the ante room next to the King's bed chambers, so that Gwen could tend them in the night. As very small children, the eldest three had shared one large room with Hannah sleeping next door, whilst Gwen looked after the baby. Recently, they had moved into one of the standard suites with the three boys sleeping in the main room, Elaine in the smaller bed chamber and Hannah in the usual ante room next door. Arthur had promised that, once they'd turned twelve, each would be assigned their own chambers and a personal servant, something Amr was already getting extremely impatient about.

Elaine had never liked being waited on in the mornings, even though it didn't seem to bother the boys. Was that because she wasn't really royalty and Amr's constant teasing about her being a servant had made her feel that is was wrong for her somehow? Or perhaps it was just that she liked proving that she was now old enough to dress herself and could choose her own clothes in the mornings as a result. She did enjoy this time as a rare opportunity to try one or two small spells that Merlin had asked her to practice, when there was no-one else around to tease her for failing, or get upset at her for using magic in the first place.

Her room was still a little dark and cold this morning, so she managed to light the fire easily enough with the usual spell and, use that larger source to light the candle - Merlin not believing she had enough control for something so small and focused yet. In fact, he'd been reluctant to teach her the fire spell at all initially, but had eventually decided that, as it was one of those bits of magic that beginners often discovered accidentally, it was probably a good idea for her to learn how to control it from an early age.

Once the room was lighter and warmer, the little girl put on a pair of loose fitting, soft grey trousers under her nightdress and then exchanged that annoying garment for a thin under vest and deep, red, embroidered shirt, very much like the one Arthur and his sons wore. Her hair had started to get a little long and, being so thick, was becoming a nuisance. Hannah had simply smiled at her the first time she'd complained and then spent a ridiculously long time styling it up with ribbons and braids. Elaine had thought it had looked silly and so, later that day, she had gone over to Gwen, widened her eyes, pouted her lower lip and begged her to cut it 'just a little'. She had long since learnt that, if she was meek and compliant most of the time, her occasional requests to the adults were nearly always granted - with Arthur being especially poor at resisting her very best, wide-eyed look. So now her hair sat just above her shoulders, long enough for it to be obvious she was a girl, but not too long for it to get in the way during play time.

Hannah came in then, took one look at Elaine and raised her eyes to the ceiling.

"Honestly, there you go again. Such a pretty child you are but you insist on dressing like a boy. The King has three sons already, and what he really needs is a daughter he can be proud of. As a princess of Camelot you really should look the part."

Elaine just shrugged her shoulders at Hannah's speech. Everyone knew that she wasn't really the king and queen's daughter and yet, everyone treated her as if she were, with Arthur regularly calling her his 'little girl' in a tone that made it seem as if he really believed it. Sometimes she felt frustrated about not knowing who her real parents were or jealous that the boys belonged to the king and queen and she didn't but, for some reason, her negative emotions never lasted that long, and she knew that she should be grateful that they had decided to adopt her at all.

No, she decided, she was grateful. They could have easily given her to one of the female servants here - which would have been honour enough for a foundling - but, for some reason, they had decided to make her their ward and adopt her into the royal family instead.

She followed Hannah into the largest room of the suite where the boys were all seated around the table, talking animatedly and waiting for their breakfast to arrive.

"Morning," said Artie with a big grin, whilst Duran gave her a smaller one.

"I'm hungry," the three year old complained.

"You're always hungry," countered Amr. "Good morning, Elaine."

"You're a fine one to talk, Amr," she countered. "I can hear your stomach from over here."

"Such lady-like manners," the eldest prince replied lightly and she stuck her tongue out at him. "As I said ..." His smile grew larger as her action proved his point.

The door creaked open and the queen nudged it wider with her shoulder whilst Hannah quickly moved to help take the breakfast tray off her. Elaine often heard the nobles complain about how much the Queen did for herself, when she should, by rights, have servants do these things for her. She rather liked the fact that Gwen wanted to take such a big role in bringing up her children, something which was almost unheard of in a court such as Camelot. From speaking to some of the lords and ladies' children, she'd discovered that most never saw either parent during the day – being attended entirely by their nurse - and would just be presented to their mother and father each evening for an hour – if they had the time. Even Arthur, the king, spent far more time with his children than most of the males in the palace did with theirs.

Which was the way it should be, Elaine thought, as Gwen sat down at the table with the four of them as they all ate and talked about the day ahead. After food and pleasant conversation, Hannah took the plates away, whilst the young family walked down a couple of long corridors to see Arthur before their lessons.

The King always got up later that his wife and was usually still eating breakfast in his room when they arrived - always with Merlin in attendance. Elaine wasn't entirely sure why it was called the King's bedchamber when Gwen shared it with him but, apparently, that was something else that various lords and ladies muttered about, saying that it wasn't at all proper that they shared, and that the Queen should have her own room – just as all the other ladies in the palace did.

"Ah, good morning everyone," said Arthur with a smile. The King wasn't always in the best of moods this early in the day, but today he seemed more awake than usual. He quickly moved towards Amr, giving him an especially critical inspection before nodding, apparently satisfied and ruffling his dark brown hair with a hand. He looked Artie and Duran over more casually and, on seeing his ward, gave a rather large sigh.

"Trousers again, Elaine?"

"Yes, Arthur. Why? Don't you think I look smart?" She gave him her best smile and knew from the sudden softening of his features that he would let her get away with it ... again.

"It's official, Merlin. You are a bigger girl than Elaine."

"Hey!" the sorcerer replied and Elaine turned a confused look on Artie who just shrugged at the exchange.

"Well, you'd better get onto lessons, you don't want to keep Alice waiting. What are your plans, Guinevere?"

"Oh, I thought I'd stay with Walt, just in case he needs my help with anything. I assume Merlin's going training with you?"

"If you can call what he does training?" Arthur replied, his lips twitching slightly. Merlin pulled a face behind the king's back and the children giggled in response. "Oh, and I'll try and find some time to come and watch you today Amr. I'd like to see how you're getting along with that sword of yours."

"Ah yes, that's ... good," said the older boy, and Elaine and Artie exchanged a grin, knowing just how nervous the prince would be about performing well in front of his father.

"And I suppose it's about time we started you off soon, Art. He looked at his middle son and frowned slightly. "I suppose you're almost big enough." The younger boy winced at the subtle reference to his slim build and average height. Amr gave his brother a very cheeky grin, well out of sight of his father.

"What about me, Arthur? Can I train with the sword and bow too?" asked Elaine. "I'm growing faster now, look – I'm almost the same height as Artie." There was a long pause as the king's gaze quite obviously flicked to Gwen and Merlin, who's expressions she couldn't see from this position, and his lips twitched in reaction to their silent response.

"We'll see," was the only answer he gave.

"Come on now, time for lessons. We don't want to keep Alice waiting," said Gwen in a breezy tone that prevented any further conversation.

XoxOxox

Elaine loved the physician's room - It was so wonderfully messy and bizarre. There were books everywhere, including some up on an a high platform that they weren't allowed to go up, and it seemed that every available table, bench and shelf was crammed full of bottles, jars and other interesting books and objects.

Today however, Alice walked the three eldest children past all this fascinating clutter and up the small flight of stairs into what was now Walt's tidy bedchamber. The bed was usually moved close to the window wall during the day, and the large table then moved into the middle of the room to act as their teaching desk. The main chamber was still the physician's room and they rarely had lessons there, unless there was something important they needed to be shown.

Their classes and tutors varied depending on the day and who was free to teach them. Alice, Walt and Merlin usually took on these roles which consisted mostly of reading and writing, but also included maths and, quite obviously, given their teachers' background, science. As they grew older there would be more training for the boys (and hopefully for her too) and, during the afternoons they either had some free time or individual lessons. The boys would spend time with Arthur, if the king wasn't too busy, or with Walt if he was, and Elaine always had a daily, private, magic lesson with Merlin – her favourite time of the day. She grinned broadly just thinking about it.

They were all quietly reading in Walt's room, when the young physician called Alice into the next room to ask her advice on a patient that had just arrived. As soon as the door had closed, Artie nudged her and turned his paper round to face her.

"Elaine, quickly, can you help me with this?"

"Hey, why do you always ask her? I am the eldest," said Amr in an offended tone.

"Yes, but she's the clever one … especially when it comes to this science stuff."

"Thanks, Artie, but that's only because of the extra lessons I get from Merlin," she replied modestly.

"Well yes ... that figures," said Amr. "Trust you to inherit his magic and his brains."

"Amr!" said Artie in an urgent whisper.

"Oops - sorry." For once Amr looked genuinely apologetic.

"What? What do you mean, inherit?" Elaine asked.

"He's just been listening to gossip, that's all," said Artie with a glare at his brother.

"Oh come on, it's more than gossip I mean … look at her."

"What? What about me? Don't you dare give me that look, Amr Pendragon ... you just tell me now or … or I'll have you up on that ceiling – never mind what Merlin says." She waved a hand in his general direction.

"I know you wouldn't dare," said the eldest boy with a shrug, turning his eyes back at his paper. Elaine glared at him and then turned back to Artie.

"Well?"

"It's just that people say … well, they think that … Merlin's your father."

"What?"

"Well, what with the magic and the fact you look like him … well, not exactly like him … obviously, I mean you're a girl … but … you have the same hair and … your cheeks look like his and … ah ..." Artie trailed off as Elaine continued to stare at him, shocked into unusual silence. She turned back to Amr who was now looking back up at her with an uncharacteristically sympathetic look on his face.

"Sorry, Elaine, I wasn't sure if you'd guessed or … well, I don't actually know for a fact but ..." He shrugged again. "Perhaps you'd better ask him."

"I suppose I should." Her mind was reeling and she had no idea how she felt. Just this morning she had been feeling sad about the fact that she had no real parents, then was grateful that she had Arthur and Gwen, and had just now been grinning about how much she was looking forward to her lesson with Merlin. She didn't even notice Alice come back in, just staring blankly at the piece of paper in front of her.

Merlin was her father? How did she feel about that? Cross because no-one had told her? Angry because he hadn't told her? Happy because he was … probably her favourite adult? She hadn't really wanted to face that thought before because she felt guilty about it … guilty that she might just like him better than Arthur or Gwen. She let out a huge sigh.

"Elaine, are you alright?" asked Alice suddenly concerned.

"Ah yes, thank you." She picked up her quill and tried to concentrate. She could say that she wasn't feeling well and make her excuses but, Merlin wouldn't be free yet and she needed to talk to him before she spoke to Gwen. As much as she hated to wait, she knew she'd just have to muddle her way through the day until it was time for her lesson with him.

Never had time dragged so slowly. She had worked hard to act as normal and the boys, even Amr, seemed to be staying deliberately close and trying to deflect attention away from her, for which she was very grateful. She stood outside Merlin's door for ages before she eventually found the courage to knock.

"Hello, Elaine," he said with a pleasant grin. "Come in." She took the smallest step forward and then stopped, just staring at him wide eyed, as her feet refused to move.

"What is it?" She shook her head. "Elaine?" She had been thinking about this all morning. Thinking about the very best way to approach this question. Trying to work out exactly the right words to say.

"So, are you my father or not?"

No! She hadn't meant it to come out like that. Merlin just sat there his mouth wide open for a very long time, whilst she quietly squirmed on the spot.

"Yes," he said eventually, his eyes wide and brimming with tears. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you." She just nodded, tears now forming in her eyes too. "How did you guess?"

"I didn't. Amr said something … he said everyone knew … well guessed and ..." She shrugged.

"Officially only Arthur, Gwen and my mother know," Merlin said. "Elaine, come and sit down over here … please?" She was still close to the door, one part of her ready to run out of the room if she felt the need.

"I-is that why I have magic?" she asked slowly moving forwards, despite herself.

"Yes."

"But, not everyone knows that about me, do they?"

"No, but apparently we look enough alike for some to have guessed."

"I suppose. Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I didn't know that you were mine at first – not until recently and then, well … you had settled into Arthur and Gwen's family so well that I didn't want to upset anyone and also … well, I'm not married and … that makes things a bit awkward too, so ..."

She looked up at him then, determined to be more subtle as she asked the next question. "You want to know who your mother is?" said Merlin, and she wondered if his magic was really strong enough to read her mind. "I'm sorry. Really sorry, Elaine, but … I can't tell you that. Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because … it would cause a lot of problems for … everyone. It would hurt a lot of people."

"I don't understand."

"I know and ... as I said, I'm sorry but, you must trust me when I tell you it's far better for you to have Gwen as your mother right now."

"Does she know? Does Arthur?"

"No," he replied simply and she looked at him, surprised by the admission. She was certain the three friends told each other everything.

"Am I like her at all? Can you tell me that, at least?" There was a very long pause as Merlin contemplated the question, his expressive face flicking through far too many different emotions for her to recognise.

"In some ways. Sometimes I see a little of her in you but, in other ways...?" He shook his head. "I think perhaps you have taken more after me than her." Elaine frowned at his reply, convinced that he had seemed relieved … pleased that she wasn't like her mother. One part of her desperately wanted to keep pressing him for more information; to use her wide eyes and quivering lip to get him to tell her everything but, remembering what he'd said about causing everyone pain, she thought perhaps she shouldn't even try.

"Will you tell me more when I'm older?" she asked then, the annoyance obvious in her voice. 'When you're older,' seemed to be a favourite quote from the adults these days and she thought she'd better get it in before he did. Merlin smiled at her in a way that made Elaine think that he was reading her mind again.

"Yes, I promise. I owe you that much." She nodded again.

"I think … I think I'm pleased that I'm your daughter."

"You think?" he asked with a hint of a smile.

"I think I will be."

"Once you've got over the shock?" She nodded. "Look, you won't be in the mood for a serious lesson today, will you?"

"Not really."

"So, what do you want to do?"

"If you can't tell me any more about my mother then, tell me about my father … about you. Tell me everything."

"Everything?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes. Everything about your family … our family." She looked up at him and saw tears forming in his eyes. She wasn't sure she could remember seeing him or any man cry before and the sight started to make her lip quiver too. Without thinking about it, she moved quickly towards his chair and held her arms out to him. Without saying a word he pulled her into a hug, and father and daughter comforted each other as they cried.

xoxOxox

Elaine felt a great deal better after her long talk with Merlin yesterday. She didn't fully understand everything about her strange family situation or the fact that she now, apparently, had three parents but, knowing that she was an actual relation of someone who lived in the palace made her feel a little less nervous about the possibility of being kicked out. She had not fully acknowledged that fear until yesterday – the thought that her parents might return and ask for her back or that Arthur and Gwen might change their mind and decide they didn't want her as their daughter, after all. Merlin had affectionately said she was silly when she'd told him this and was happy to confirm that, as she was definitely his, her place here in Camelot was assured.

Her first lesson of the day was unusually held in the physician's chambers themselves, with the eldest three now given some real jobs to do; either crushing herbs, tidying bottles or shelves or, in Amr's case, copying a list of ingredients on a piece of parchment in his exceptionally neat hand. Alice seemed delighted when Artie showed an interest in the strange totem she was making and quietly took him to one side, explaining all about it's magical and healing properties. Elaine moved closer, also suddenly interested in the conversation when she realised what it was about.

"Do you have to have magic to learn how to heal that way?" she asked.

"Well now, magic isn't simply something you do or don't have. Almost everyone has the ability to cast a spell within them, it's just that some have more talent than others, just as some can read better and some are good with a sword.

"I don't understand," said Artie. "I mean, we know Elaine has magic but … well, I don't … I can't do all those strange things that she can."

"Well yes, Elaine's magic is rather different," Alice began.

"Just like my father's," she responded without thinking. Alice gave her a long look and she clapped a hand over a mouth as she realised her mistake. The old lady's face showed a sudden hint of amusement.

"Ah, so it is true? I did wonder?"

"Merlin is your father?" Artie breathed and Elaine nodded.

"Well, that certainly explains a lot," Alice said. "Yes, your magic is very different – something that I certainly don't understand but, for the rest of us, it's something we have to learn although – much to Walt's frustration – not something that everyone finds easy."

"I don't understand," said Artie.

"Oh, Walt's a talented young scientist now and is a very good conventional healer but … he really hasn't mastered the magical side of that skill at all. And then there's Merlin, the most powerful sorcerer I have ever encountered, who seems to have very little natural talent at medicine; conventional or magical. He's a clever man and a fast learner so … he knows more than most but, it's certainly not his strong point."

"So, even though I have magic, I might not be able to heal?" asked Elaine.

"Possibly not, especially if you take after Merlin in that too."

"Well, I am interested in science and healing too," said Artie. "And …" He pulled a face. "Somehow I think that I'm going to be better at that then at sword play and archery."

"I think perhaps you could be right," said Alice with a fond smile, "but don't look so upset, we all have our strong points. If you're really interested in these totems I could teach you, Artie. I'm not able to do as much nowadays and Walt's the one doing most of the running around. If you want I'll give you some lessons in the afternoons?"

"Oh, I'd really like that," said the boy enthusiastically.

"What about you Elaine?"

"Well, it does sound interesting and I do quite enjoy science but … I have lessons with Merlin in the afternoon and … perhaps it's only fair that Artie has his own … thing." The boy beamed at her.

"I'd love to actually be good at something," he said.

"Now, why would you say something like that?" asked Alice sternly.

"Well, I'm not good at sword like Amr, or have magic like Elaine or …"

"Amr's just better because he's older than you and … you're good at lessons, isn't he, Alice?"

"Of course he is," the old lady agreed.

"And you're so much better at horse riding than me," Elaine added.

"But father wants me to be a knight, and I know he's disappointed that I'm a bit small and a bit skinny and …"

"Nonsense," Alice chided him. "Your father doesn't want you to be a copy of Amr, why would he?"

"Ooh ..!" said Elaine pulling a face. "Imagine if you were? Two identical boys, just as rude and annoying as Amr … or – or even worse … Duran too ... three Amrs. Can you imagine it? Horrible!" She grinned as Artie laughed at her joke.

"I can hear you, you know?" Amr called out from the other side of the room, and the three quietly giggled in response.

xoxOxox

A/N I know that this fic isn't to everyone's taste but it's one of my more 'mature' fics and I LOVE IT! So, thank you, if you 'get it' and are enjoying it.

Comments:

1) Yes, I know that Morgana not working it out yet is annoying but ... she has been depressed for the last five years and, as for Mordred, he left to 'spread the word' a few years ago. He's due back soon and then it must surely occur to him that keeping that secret is not doing his group any favours. We'll see ;)

2) If you are feeling that Merlin is a little OOC in regard to Elaine at this point then, I urge you to stick with this fic. I promise you that he and I do have our reasons! To quote aigneadh's review of chapter 29

"I was one of those people thinking the whole three-parent thing was a little strange. Sorry for ever doubting you, it all makes sense now!

3) As for her calling him Merlin – that little quirk is definitely staying because, when this story popped into my head on that sleepless January night, I saw Elaine walk up to Arthur and Merlin and address them in that way and, what she said was so funny and cute, that it dictated the family dynamic for the whole fic. (That conversation is coming up in the next chapter)

E/N. Mostly A/N edits and a few minor tweaks.