A/N So, this is Gates of Avalon. Sorry it took so long to post, I am actually working on a Merlin/Doctor Who crossover right now, and it distracted me. I hope this one is okay! Thank you for the reviews and for following and favoriting and for just reading it. You are all amazing!
Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, because if I did it would never end
Arthur was floating underwater, her eyes closed and blonde hair surrounding her face like a halo. Above her stood a man with light brown hair and a horrible smirk. He held his outstretched hand over the princess as she began to sink deeper into the water…
Morgan awoke with a start. "Arthur!" He was breathing heavily. The dream had seemed so real. Arthur drowning and the man just standing by and watching.
"My lord?" Glynn stood in the doorway and looked worriedly at his master. "Are you alright?"
Morgan recovered quickly before turning to his manservant and giving him a strained smile. "Just a dream, Glynn. Nothing to worry about." He assured.
A doe stood peacefully in the center of a clearing, blissfully unaware that she was being hunted. Arthur raised her crossbow quietly, prepared to fire at the deer's heart. Suddenly, her bumbling maidservant came crashing loudly into her. "What is it?" Merlin practically shouted. The doe looked up and ran from the clearing, causing the princess to let out an exasperated growl.
"You really are a total buffoon, aren't you, Merlin?" She yelled and Merlin held her hands up defensively.
"I was just asking."
"Who, me or the deer? We're supposed to be hunting. It requires speed, stealth and an agile mind"
Merlin scoffed. "So you're able to get by on two out of three, then?"
Arthur was about to respond with a clever comeback when she was interrupted by the sound of distant shouting. The princess and her maid followed the sound until they came across a trio of bandits attacking two travelers.
Arthur aimed her crossbow and took out one of the bandits before charging into the scene. Drawing her sword, she began to fight off one of the thugs while another tried to sneak up behind her.
Forbærnen firgenholt, Merlin whispered, causing a limb to break away from a tree and land on the bandit. He struggled to stand up as Arthur finished off the man she was fighting. Seeing his two friends dead and Arthur coming at him, the man fled the scene. The princess smirked and looked up at where the branch fell. "Stroke of luck."
"And let that be a lesson to you!" Merlin yelled with glee after the fleeing bandit. Arthur turned to look at her. "What? I was covering your back."
The princess shook her head as she went to check on the travelers. One was an older man in a dark blue hooded cloak; the other was a young man with elf-like features and enchanting blue eyes wearing an orange cloak nearly identical to the older man's. Both held wooden staffs with large blue stones on top. "Are you alright?" she called to the travelers. "Are either of you injured?"
The young man smiled at the princess. "We are fine, all thanks to you." He bowed his head. "My name is Sol Tír-Mòr, and this is my father, Aulfric."
Arthur nodded back. "Arthelia Pendragon, at your service, but please call me Arthur." The young man took her hand and kissed it.
Arthur and Merlin escorted the men back to Camelot, where they where the king granted them an audience.
"Our home was sacked by raiders, we barely escaped with what few possessions we could carry." Aulfric explained to Uther, who nodded in understanding. "We travel west to Caerleon where we have family and, I hope, a new life."
"These are dangerous times. You must stay here awhile," the king stated, "break your journey. A noble family like yours is always welcome in Camelot."
Aulfric and his son bowed to the king before turning to exit the throne room. As he passed Arthur, Sol smiled and winked before leaving with his father.
"Make sure that they are put in decent rooms, alright, Merlin?" Arthur ordered, taking off her sword belt and placing it on the table in her room. Merlin leaned against Arthur's bedpost.
"The two rooms next door are empty. I'm sure Sol would love that." She stated, raising her eyebrow suggestively.
"Shut up, Merlin."
The maidservant laughed. "What? I didn't say anything wrong."
"You were thinking it."
"I don't see a problem with him staying next door. I mean, I'm sure you can handle him if his intentions are less than honorable." Merlin reasoned and Arthur nodded in agreement.
"You're right. Put him next door."
Merlin grinned and left the room.
A half hour later, Merlin was showing Sol his room. "Your father is in the room next door and if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." She smiled. The young man nodded. "Thank you, Merlin."
The maid left the man and passed Morgan in the corridor, who, upon seeing Sol, grabbed her arm.
"Merlin, who is that man?" he asked, sounding frightened.
"Umm, his name is Sol Tír-Mòr. Arthur and I saved him and his father from some bandits in the woods. Well, when I say me and Arthur…"
"He can't stay here." Morgan interrupted. Merlin looked at him worriedly.
"The king says they are welcome in Camelot. Morgan, are you okay? Is there something you need to talk about?"
The lord shook his head. "No, I'm fine, Merlin. Thank you." He declared, before rushing back down the corridor.
He wasn't even sure where he was heading until he found himself outside of Gaius' chambers. When he walked in, Gaius was removing some kind of medicine from his burner. He turned to see the young man standing in his doorway and grinned. "Good morning, Morgan."
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to disturb you."
"Nonsense, come in." Gaius stated, waving the young man into the room. "My favorite patient is always welcome."
Morgan gave the old man a small smile and entered, looking around the physician's chambers.
"I'm sorry about the mess. Most of it's Merlin's." Gaius chuckled. "If I'd known you were coming, I'd have tidied up in here."
"It's not that," the young man pointed to the table "your bench is on fire."
Gaius turned quickly to see one of his flasks burning. "My bench is on fire!"
Morgan held out a bucket of water as Gaius grabbed the burning flask with a pair of tongs and doused it. The young lord's smile grew larger at the old man's antics.
"You're always getting me into trouble." Gaius exclaimed as he shook his head. "What brings you to this dark corner?"
Morgan's face fell when he remembered what had been troubling him. "I had another dream last night." he sat on a nearby stool, thinking back to the nightmare. "I dreamed Arthur was lying under water, drowning, and there was a man standing over her, watching her die. And then, I saw him again, here in Camelot."
Gaius sat next to him with a worried expression. "You dreamed he was in Camelot?"
"No, I saw him in the halls not five minutes ago." The old physician raised his eyebrow as the young lord continued. "Gaius, I watched Arthur die; that man is going to kill her. It was real." Morgan exclaimed hysterically.
"Morgan, you need to calm down. They're just dreams, nothing more. Have you been taking your sleeping draughts?"
"They don't help, Gaius, they just keep me from waking up from the dreams."
Gaius nodded before grabbing a bottle of medicine and handing it to the lord. "Here, this will induce a deeper sleep." He put his hand on Morgan's shoulder. "You have nothing to fear." He reassured.
Morgan nodded, before getting up to leave. "Oh, and Morgan?" Gaius called after him. The lord looked back at the old physician. "Don't bother Uther about this. No need to worry him." Morgan nodded in agreement before closing the door to the physician's chambers behind him.
"Merlin, I need your help." Arthur told Merlin as the maid braided the princess' hair back. "Sol asked to take me on a ride today."
The raven-haired girl raised her eyebrow as she tied off the braid. "Where do I come into this?"
"Well, I'm supposed to be on patrol with the guard of my father this morning, so I need you to cover for me."
Merlin's jaw dropped. "What, and lie to the King? No. No way. No, he'll see right through me. He'll have me in the stocks quicker than you can say rotten tomatoes."
"Merlin," the princess turned to look at her maid. "I need you to do this for me."
"I am a terrible liar. I start sweating, my- my vision blurs, my- my brain stops working."
"Well, no change there, then." She smiled. "Listen, I can't order you to lie to the King, but ...you'd be a friend for life if you did."
Merlin looked at the princess, who smiled at her innocently. She sighed. "Go on, then, you don't want to keep him waiting."
Arthur's smile widened as she threw her arms around her maid. "Thanks, Merlin. I won't forget it."
Morgan and Glynn watched as Arthur rode off into the forest with the strange visitor. "You're sure it's him?" the servant asked, and Morgan nodded.
"I could never forget that face."
"You should speak to the King."
Morgan looked at his servant. "And tell him what? That I can see the future? You know how he'd react."
"You're his ward, he wouldn't harm you."
"Glynn, you know Uther as well as I. He hates magic more than he cares about me." He looked back out the window, sadly.
"I'm sure that's not true, my lord." Glynn responded, shaking his head.
"Would you care to put it to the test?"
The two continued to watch the princess until she was out of sight of the castle. Glynn bit his lip. "What are you going to do?"
"Try and stop him myself, before it's too late."
Merlin gulped when she saw Uther arrive in the council chambers to meet Arthur for patrol. The king stared at the maid for a moment before breaking the silence. "Where is my daughter?"
Merlin opened her mouth to reply, but closed it when she realized that she didn't have a good answer. She bit her lip and took a deep breath. "I'm not sure where she is. I, erm, I think there's been a mistake." She stammered, nervously pulling at her neckerchief. "But it's not her fault. Arthur's, I mean."
"Stop gibbering and tell me where he is." The king ordered.
"It's probably... No, it's definitely my fault. "
Uther rolled his eyes at the maid's behavior. "Where is Arthelia?"
"She wasn't sure of her orders, so she asked me to check with the guards to see if she was riding out this morning and...well...I may have forgotten."
"You forgot?" the king asked as he stared daggers at her.
The maid nodded in response. "I am so sorry, my lord. I'm sure she would be here, had I told her."
"If this was a time of war, I would have you flogged." Uther barked, causing Merlin to flinch slightly.
"But since it's not, we'll let it go just this once?" she squeaked, smiling innocently.
Merlin sighed. "I guess that was a no."
She turned her head as much as she could to avoid the rotten fruit people were throwing at her. Sometimes, she wondered if the people of Camelot got some kind of sick pleasure seeing her thrown in the stocks. Some rotten kid was even throwing potatoes at her. She frowned as someone got a direct hit throwing a tomato at her nose.
"Well, someone's aim is improving."
Meanwhile, Arthur and Sol had dismounted their horses and the princess decided to show him the river."It's not far." She informed him, pointing over a nearby hill. "Just this way."
"Arthur, wait." The elf-like man took the princess' hand. She raised her eyebrow.
"What is it?"
Sol looked into her eyes. Túce hwón frec'úre, artur. He began to chant. Suddenly, a Camelot guard yelled from the main path.
"You there! Stop!"
He fired a crossbow bolt that would've hit Sol's head, had Arthur not quickly pushed him out of the way. The guard, quickly realizing who he shot at, began to apologize profusely.
"Sorry? You nearly shot a crossbow at my face!" The princess yelled, running up to the guard. "What do you mean you're sorry?!"
After chewing out the guard and ordering him away, Arthur jogged back to Sol, who was standing still in shock.
"The guards are out searching for the bandits who attacked you yesterday. Are you alright?"
The man nodded.
"Maybe we should head back." Arthur suggested, seeing that the strange man was still shaken up.
"No, it's fine. I- I'm sorry, I was upset." He insisted. "Now, don't let this spoil our day together. We were having such a nice time. Let's go down to the river."
Arthur shook her head. "No, I think it'd be best to head back before something else happens." She walked back to the horses, not noticing the scowl Sol was wearing on his face.
Merlin groaned loudly as she entered Gaius' chambers, who laughed at the state of his ward. "Have you been playing with your food again, Merlin?"
"The king put me in the stocks."
"What did you do this time?" Gaius asked, hands on his hips.
Merlin held her hands up defensively. "Nothing, I swear, Arthur wanted to get out of going on patrol with Uther and the guard, so I covered for her and took the blame."
"She was prepared to let you do this?"
Merlin snorted and walked over to a bucket of water that was on the table to wash the food from her hair. "Please, it was her idea."
"And what made her neglect her duties? It must've been something terribly important."
The maid rolled her eyes. "Sol, the boy from the forest. He wanted to take her out for the day, let her show him around."
"They've only just met and Arthur is neglecting her duties to spend time with him? That doesn't sound like the Arthelia Pendragon I know."
Merlin shrugged. "Maybe since Lancelot, she's been opening her heart to people more."
Gaius pursed his lips. "Maybe."
"Are you sure that you're still not a little shaken up?" Arthur asked once she and Sol had made it back to the courtyard. The boy smiled.
"I'm fine. Thank you for today, my lady." He kissed her hand before turning and entering the palace. He hadn't gotten far when he bumped into Morgan.
"I'm sorry. Lord Morgan, wasn't it? I'm Sol." He held out his hand to the lord, who sneered at it.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded.
"My father and I are guests of the king." He said innocently.
Fed up with niceties, Morgan grabbed the other man by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall.
"You're lying. I know what you're planning to do to Arthur, and I will not let you harm her." He threatened, a dark look in his eye. "Don't begin to think that you can make a fool out of me."
Sol smirked. "You seem to be doing that well enough on your own."
Morgan tightened his grip on the man's collar. "Stay away from her. If anything happens to Arthur, I will find you, no matter how long it takes. And I will end you."
He dropped Sol on the ground and strode back to his room, trying to think of a way to stop whatever plan these visitors had for the princess.
A/N Did you like it? Reviews are a god send, so please do. I picked Sol as the name of Sophia's character because it's kind of fairy sounding to me and there is no male version of the name "Sophia". Trust me, me and my friend Deion spent like an hour trying to find one. Part 2 will be up next week
In other news: THE TWELFTH DOCTOR IS GOING TO BE ANNOUNCED IN 10 MINUTES. AHHHHHHHHHH! WHO ELSE IS EXCITED?!
I AM PUMPED!
