Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.
Info: In case you haven't read the summary, this is a genderbendAU with female Arthur (=Artoria) and male Morgana (=Morgan). The titles are French because I actually watched the first Merlin episodes in that language and just thought it would be a cool thing to do.
L'Appel du Dragon:
"Where's the target?" Princess Artoria asked her useless servant.
"There, Sir." Came the timid answer, even though it kind of sounded like a question.
"It's into the sun." Artoria told the imbecile. Were servants really so incapable of using their brains?
"It's not that bright, ma'am." The boy replied, he was a servant who went by the name of Morris.
"A bit like you then." Artoria taunted, and smirked when her comment earned her a few laughs from her comrades.
The boy then walked towards the target and picked it up, judging by his expression it must've been a bit heavy. Artoria didn't particularly care though, she pulled out a dagger and threw it at the target, shocking the unsuspecting servant. When the servant paused to look at the dagger, the princess immediately commanded: "Don't stop!"
She made him continue moving with the target, all the while throwing daggers, until the poor boy dropped the target and Merlin put his foot down on it, deciding to end this now.
"Hey, come on that's enough." He said, looking at the prat but making sure to keep his tone friendly.
"What?"
"You've had your fun my friend." He answered, in the village this always worked when some of the older kids were picking on a younger one.
But Artoria was not very impressed by his act, demanding: "Do I know you?"
"I'm Merlin" Merlin introduced himself, holding out his hand, but it seemed like this girl had no manners as she simply concluded: "So I don't know you, yet you called me friend."
"That was my mistake."
"Yes, I think so." Artoria agreed smugly.
"Yeah, I'd never have a friend who could be such an ass." The boy added, feeling proud as he watched the smug smile being wiped away from the woman's face. He was just about to walk away when the blonde opened her stupid mouth and said: "Or I one who could be so stupid."
"Tell me, Merlin," she continued, walking towards the peasant, "do you know how to walk on your knees?"
What kind of question was that? The answer was obviously "No."
"Would you like me to help you?" She offered.
"I wouldn't if I were you." Merlin bluffed, hoping she would just leave him alone.
"Why? What're you gonna do to me?" Artoria taunted, knowing that she could easily take on the skinny peasant.
"You have no idea."
"Be my guest." And then she opened her arms, inviting Merlin to do whatever she seemed to expect him to do.
"Come on" The princess said and then repeated that like three times.
The warlock had had enough and went to punch her, but she had anticipated it and twisted his arm behind his back.
"I could have you in jail for that." She threatened.
"Who do you think you are?" Merlin sarcastically asked.
"I'm Artoria, princess of Camelot." She said and next Merlin knew two guards dragged him down to the dungeons. That had certainly destroyed the boy's image of royals being charming and kind. The youth tried getting comfortable, though it was impossible, but eventually he drifted off into a fitful slumber.
"Merlin" The warlock opened his eyes, looking for the owner of the voice, but found that he was alone.
"Merlin" it said again. Merlin got up, staring at the floor, did the voice come from-
"Merlin" this time he pressed his ear against the floor.
"Merlin!" shouted a different voice, and the boy looked up to see Gaius enter his cell.
He was hoping for a hug or something, but instead the physician started ranting about having to keep his head down and that his behavior had been idiotic.
"I'm sorry"
"You're lucky, I managed to pull a few strings to get you released." Gaius said.
"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Merlin exclaimed, and was about to pull Gaius into a hug, but by the look on his face there was some kind of downside.
"Now, there is a small price to pay."
That was how the most powerful sorcerer ended up in the stocks. Luckily, most of the kids had a bad aim, so a lot of food just landed next to him.
Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted Gaius. "Thanks Gaius!" Merlin yelled at him, then had to duck his head to avoid being hit in the face by a tomato. The next time he looked up, a beautiful, mocha skinned girl clothed in red stood next to him.
"I'm Guinevere, but most people call me Gwen." She introduced herself to the dark haired boy.
"Alright, I'm Merlin, but most people just call me idiot." Merlin replied and shook Gwen's hand as best as possible in his position.
"No, no, no, I saw what you did. You're so brave."
"It was stupid" The warlock muttered, but still felt a bit of pride swell up in his chest at the maid's words.
"Well, I'm glad you walked away, you weren't gonna beat her."
"Oh, I could beat her." Merlin claimed, and it was true, if he had been allowed to use magic, he'd have had the prat begging for mercy.
"You think? Because you don't look like one of these big, muscly kind of fellows."
Merlin wasn't sure if he should feel offended, but he didn't want to start a fight so he just gave her an unsure sounding "Thanks."
"No, I'm sure you're stronger than you look. It's just uhm…Artoria's a trained warrior. Well..." Gwen tried to comfort Merlin.
"What?"
"You don't look like that."
The raven haired male smirked and motioned Gwen closer, then in a secretive voice told her: "I'm in disguise" The maid laughed, and it made Merlin grin as well.
"Well it's great you stood up to her."
"You think so?" Merlin asked her, to be honest this Gwen was a bit confusing.
"Artoria's a bully and everyone thought you were a real hero." Merlin smiled at her, then noticed the kids returning with new monition.
"Excuse me Guinevere, my fans are waiting."
The boy sat down at the table for dinner and Gaius teasingly asked him: "Want some vegetables with that?"
Merlin smiled slightly and then told him: "I know you're still angry with me."
"Your mother asked me to look after you." The physician replied.
"Yes."
"What did your mother say to you about your gifts?" He questioned the boy.
Merlin thought for a moment and unsurely answered: "That I was special."
"You are special, the likes of which I have never seen before." That statement made him curious so he stopped eating for a second, looked at him and asked: "What do you mean?"
"Well, magic requires incantations, spells, it takes years to study. What I saw you do was…elemental, instinctive."
Merlin just nodded, and with a slight bitterness said: "What's the point if it can't be used?"
"That I do not know." The physician admitted. "You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlin." He seemed to have quite a lot of knowledge of the subject, so the young boy boldly asked: "Did you ever study magic?"
"Uther banned all such work 20 years ago."
"Why?"
"People used magic for the wrong things at that time. It threw the natural order into chaos. Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons." Gaius explained, but it still didn't make any sense to the witch.
"All of them?" Merlin asked and really hoped the answer to that question was no, dragons sounded like dangerous, but powerful and fascinating creatures. He would love to see one…well…if it's nice.
"There was one Dragon he chose not to kill. Kept it as an example. He imprisoned it in a cave, deep beneath the castle, where no one can free it." Judging by Gaius tone, he did not approve, and Merlin could understand. How was it fair to imprison someone or something because of how they were born? To be kept alone underneath a castle, that sounded worse than death. Gaius then changed the topic, telling him about some errand he would need to take care of.
Merlin easily found Lady Helen's room and looked around. Empty. Well he wasn't going to wait for her to return, so the boy just put the small bottle on Lady Helen's table, guessing she'd figure out what it is.
Merlin was just about to leave when he noticed something weird, a doll made of hay. Curious, the young warlock picked it up, but even upon closer inspection it didn't seem to be special. There was also a book, covered by a cloth and he was about to open it, but sensing that someone was coming Merlin hastily put everything back into its place and turned around, coming face to face with a good looking woman with long, curly brown hair and a purple/pinkish dress.
"What are you doing here?" asked the woman that Merlin presumed to be Lady Helen.
"I was asked to deliver this." He told her, grabbing the vial and giving it to her. Merlin smiled at the woman and she smiled back, but it seemed rather forced. Maybe she was just another arrogant rich person. Merlin quickly left, but couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.
Artoria and some knights were just walking through the lower town, making sure all was well when something, or rather someone, caught the blonde beauty's eye. It was that boy from who called her an ass. Reacting quickly, the princess shouted: "How's your knee walking coming along?"
Annoyed that the boy was ignoring her, she called out: "Aw. Don't run away."
The peasant immediately halted in his step.
"From you?" The ravenette asked without turning around.
"Thank god, I thought you were deaf as well as dumb." The princess said and smirked.
"Look," Merlin started, turning on his heel to face her, "I've told you you're an ass, I just didn't realize you were a royal one."
Artoria exchanged disbelieving looks with her friends. She didn't know whether to be amused or offended by this boy.
"What? You got your Daddy's men to protect you?" The peasant boy taunted, receiving fiery glare from Artoria. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was people assuming that just because she was a woman, she needed men to protect her.
"I could take you apart with one blow." She warned the boy.
"I could take you apart with less than that." Merlin claimed
"You sure?" Artoria asked mockingly, and he nodded.
Then she held out her hand to one of her followers, and the man passed her a mace. "Here you go, big man." She called out and then threw the damn thing at the young peasant, who barely managed to catch it.
"Come on then." The princess said and started swinging the thing around. "I must warn you though, I've been trained to kill since birth."
"Wow, and how long have you been training to be a prat?" The raven haired boy asked her.
"You can't address me like that." Artoria chastised him, chuckling lightly.
"Sorry, how long have you been training to be a prat, my lady?" Merlin corrected himself, even going as far as to give her a mocking bow.
She laughed for a second and then began swinging her mace at him. Merlin was really lucky to have such quick reflexes, as he managed to duck just in time. He then quickly moved backwards, which might not have been the smartest course of action when his mace got stuck. The ravenette briefly tried getting it unstuck, but Artoria was still advancing towards him, so in a last ditch effort to gain some time, he abandoned the weapon and scrambled behind a table.
Artoria, of course, followed him, jumping over the stand with practiced ease. Once more, Merlin was forced to flee backwards and stumbled over some grain sacks, landing on his back.
The princess smirked, proclaiming: "You're in trouble now."
But before either of them could do anything, a familiar voice called out: "What is going on?"
Crap! Artoria quickly stopped swinging her mace and turned around to face Morgan.
"Nothing." She answered calmly meanwhile Merlin was getting up, looking confused.
"I thought so. Now come, you have a meeting in half an hour, and I'm certain the King won't appreciate you wearing your training clothes." Morgan spoke, linking their arms and dragging her off to the castle.
"Merlin"
It was that voice again, but this time he was fully awake, so it couldn't have been part of some dream. He sat up and silently put on his boots and jacket, sneaking past a sleeping Gaius.
"Merlin" The voice called out once more as he walked across the courtyard.
He walked down the stairs in the direction of the dungeons, but quickly halted in his step when he saw two guards, sitting at a table and playing dice. That gave him an idea, and he made the two dices jump away from the guard, leading them away from their post.
Taking his chance, Merlin quickly slipped past them, traveling further downwards until he finally arrived at some kind of cave.
"Where are you?!" Merlin asked, holding his nearly acquired torch in front of him.
Suddenly there was movement, and to Merlin's amazement, a huge Dragon landed on the stone, just a few feet away.
"I'm here." It proclaimed in a booming voice, rendering the warlock speechless.
"How small you are, for such a great Destiny." It commented, pulling Merlin out of his shock.
"What do you mean? What destiny?"
"Your gift, Merlin, was given to you for a reason."
"So there is a reason." The teen half asked and he could have sworn the dragon smirked.
"Artoria is the once and future queen who will unite the land of Albion, but she faces many threats, from friend and foe alike" The dragon said, and Merlin was a bit lost.
"I don't see what this has to do with me!" The warlock exclaimed.
"Everything! Without you, Artoria will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion." The dragon explained.
"No, you've got this wrong.- " Merlin protested, but the overgrown lizard didn't even let him finish.
"There is no right or wrong, only what is and what isn't."
"I'm serious! If anyone wants to go ahead and kill her, be my guest. I might even give them a hand!" He yelled, but the dragon just chuckled.
"None of us can choose our destiny Merlin, and none of us can escape it."
"No, no, no way. There must be another Artoria, because this one is an idiot." The warlock argued, hoping the crazy dragon would see reason.
"Well, maybe it is your destiny to change that." It spoke and then flew off.
Artoria let out an exasperated sigh as she looked at the dresses before her. Lady Helen was going to sing at the feast tonight, and the princess knew how much of an important occasion this was for her father, so she intended to make an effort to look even better than she normally did.
The problem was that she had so many dresses, and no time to try all of them on. Making up her mind, Artoria decided to call for a servant.
A young, blonde girl appeared quickly. "My lady." She greeted the princess, curtsying.
"I wish to look absolutely gorgeous tonight." Artoria explained, and even if she didn't exactly say it, the serving girl heard the unsaid: 'and you're going to make me look that way.'
"Of course, my lady."
And look gorgeous she did. Artoria stood in front of the mirror, very pleased with the servant's work. She was wearing a light blue neck-holder dress with a silver belt beneath her bosom and her long, blond hair was done in a braided bun.
She'd have to consider hiring the girl as her maidservant seeing as she had just fired her last one 3 hours ago.
"Well done, you may leave now." Artoria commanded and a few minutes later she made her way down to the feast.
She entered the room with her head held high and smirked softly when she heard Morgan whisper "God have mercy."
The next few minutes consisted of making polite conversation, until the horns blew, signaling for everyone to move to their places.
The King then walked in and began the opening speech.
"We have enjoyed 20 years of peace and prosperity, it has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures, but few can compare to the honor of introducing Lady Helen of Mora."
Once the King finished his speech, everyone began clapping and sat down, letting Helen's soft voice lull them to sleep.
Merlin noticed that people were beginning to fall asleep, and realizing that this was some kind of spell, he quickly covered his ears.
It grew dark, and spider webs started forming themselves. Lady Helen continued walking forwards and pulled out a dagger, her eyes fixed on Artoria. Acting on instinct, Merlin used his magic to drop the chandelier, successfully crushing Lady Helen.
Slowly, the people began to awaken. They looked around the room in confusion, until their eyes landed on the old crone that had once looked like Lady Helen. Uther realized with horror that this was the woman who had threatened Artoria. Before anyone could react though, the sorceress had used the last of her strength to throw the dagger that she was still holding at the princess.
Merlin slowed time long enough to run to Artoria and push her down, landing next to the shocked girl. They both got up and Uther came over to check on his daughter. "You saved my girl's life, a debt must be repaid."
"Uh, wow…" Merlin said, thinking about what to ask for.
"Now don't be so modest."
"Uhmm…"
"This merits something quite special." Uther claimed, and the warlock was about to ask for money, but he didn't get the chance to speak.
"You shall be awarded a position in the royal household. You shall be princess Artoria's manservant."
"Father!" The girl exclaimed, but due to the applause her protest went unheard.
Alright, that was chapter one. I hope I didn't disappoint, feel free to give me some feedback.