A/N: New Story! Ok, so there's a few things I wanted to say before this story starts. Firstly- it's long. Approximately 30 chapters and follows all five series of the show. So, I might end up splitting it into two separate stories. I tried to keep it as canon as possible but it is an AU because of my OC and there a few characters who I just couldn't bare too kill. Secondly- you do have to be fairly familiar with the individual episodes as I'm aware in lots of places, I didn't full describe the background so you might find it quite confusing. I also lifted some conversations straight from the show.
This is the story of how a young girl slotted into the tale of Merlin and Arthur and possibly helped to change their fates.
Chapter 1 references Episodes 1 and 2 of Series 1.
Chapter 1
A young warlock was picking his way through the bustling streets of the greatest city in all the five kingdoms. His bright blue eyes were wide with wonder, taking in everything around him, and his mouth was agape. Compared to the small farming village Merlin had grown up in, even the lower town of Camelot seemed lined with luxury. He was making his way towards the impressive castle where, his mother had assured him, he'd find Gaius, the man who would so kindly be taking him in.
Merlin hopped to the side as a young boy bolted past him being chased by an angry stall owner. Unfortunately, his reflexes sent him tumbling into a nearby cart stacked full of fruit which promptly flew into the air. Quick as lightning, Merlin glanced around to see if he was alone and his eyes flashed a deep gold. The fruit froze in mid-air and then gently floated back to their crates on the wagon. Merlin sighed in relief and turned to continue on his way only to be stopped by a small voice.
"You shouldn't do that here."
Merlin spun around, horrified. He hadn't been alone after all. There was a young girl, no older than fourteen or fifteen years standing with one eyebrow raised.
"It's forbidden. You could be executed."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Merlin stuttered.
"I saw you use magic. I'm not stupid," the girl said, stepping forward, "But don't worry. I won't tell anyone."
"You-" Merlin did a double take, "Really?"
"Of course not. Not everyone agrees with the law, you know. But you should be more careful. I think you might prefer to be hit by a falling apple core than a falling guillotine blade."
"Right," he turned to go but stopped and turned back, "How can I be sure you won't tell anyone?"
"Because," the girl smiled cheekily and, similarly to how Merlin's had not two moments ago, her eyes flashed golden and one of the apples rose from the cart and then fired itself at Merlin's head, "That would make me a huge hypocrite."
Merlin grinned and the girl smiled warmly back at him. "Who are you?" she asked, "I don't think I've ever seen you around."
"My name is Merlin. I've only just arrived here."
"Nice to meet you Merlin. I'm-"
"Rowen! My Lady!" a voice called from down the street as a group of men clad in armour and red capes jogged towards them.
The girl's eyes glinted cheekily, "That's me. Rowen. I'll see you later, Merlin."
The warlock watched as she walked gracefully towards the guards, unable to fully comprehend his luck. He didn't think his mother would have appreciated him exposing his magic and being arrested before even making it to the castle. If anyone else had come across him using magic, Merlin would be being marched to the dungeons right away. He also couldn't help but notice how the guards had addressed the girl as 'My Lady', however, and vaguely wondered just who he had met. A woman of noble blood practicing magic in Camelot? Surely not.
Merlin shrugged, adjusted his bag slightly and continued on his way, allowing the beauty of the city to wash over him again. His brow creased slightly at the mass of people gathering in the courtyard and he stood on his tip-toes to see over the heads. Almost immediately, he wished he hadn't. He winced in horror as King Uther Pendragon sentenced a man to death for using sorcery but found himself unable to look away as the blade fell with a sickening slash.
Up in the chambers of her older sister, the Lady Rowen was peering out of the window, glaring at the king.
"Sister," a gentle hand landed on the younger girl's silky blonde hair and stroked it gently, "I've told you before that you shouldn't watch such things."
"It's horrible. He didn't harm anyone. Uther kills people just because of who they are. He's a coward."
The older woman opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by a horrible wail from the courtyard down below. Both girls turned back to the window and looked out as they watched an old woman express her anger towards Uther and disappear in a whirlwind of magic. The Lady Morgana reached out and pulled the window shut.
"I can't believe he wants to celebrate. All he did was kill yet another innocent person," Rowen scowled.
"You are too young to worry yourself with such things," Morgana said sweetly, pinching her sister's cheek affectionately, "Do not think on it. Now, off you go, don't you have a lesson to be at?"
Rowen smiled mischievously and ran from the room to meet her tutor.
Two days later, the king's cheeky younger ward had once again escaped the bore of arithmetic and was strolling through the town, hood of her travelling robe pulled over her golden hair when her attention was caught by a large commotion. It didn't surprise her in the slightest that Arthur was partially responsible. The prince would gladly pick a fight with anyone who even looked at him wrongly. She was more surprised to find the source of his anger, however. The young man, Merlin, who she had met previously, was stuck on the floor while Arthur swung his mace maliciously. Rowen alone caught the strange lighting of Merlin's eyes as the weapon caught around some conveniently placed hooks and became tangled. She smirked as Merlin scrambled to his feet but frowned when Merlin froze, eyes fixed on someone in the crowd of onlookers. She followed his eyes and found Gaius, the court physician looking on in disappointment. But how did Merlin know Gaius?
The next morning, Rowen awoke feeling frustrated. Tonight, the king was holding a feast to celebrate something about overcoming the evil of magic and she would be forced to sit through speeches and the warbling of Lady Helen while the adults all drunk themselves silly. She hated to be around Arthur and Uther when they were drunk; they could be even more intolerable than usual.
Quickly, Rowen dressed herself- she hated having servants doing it for her as it made her feel very vulnerable- and then ran off to her sister's chambers to have breakfast. She did this every morning as Morgana told her she liked to see her smiling face first thing. It always set her day off well, apparently.
"I had Gwen find you something nice to wear tonight," Morgana had said as they ate, "You'll look just gorgeous."
"I have plenty of dresses already. Must you always find me a new one for every celebration?"
"It is no sin to spoil your little sister," Morgana defended, "Besides, I know exactly you do with them after wearing them once."
Rowen blushed and looked down at her plate. Every time her sister bought her a new gown for a feast, she would wear it on the given night and then, the next morning, take it down to the lower town and gift it to someone more worthy. "Other people need it more than I," she said quietly, "We could have ended up just like them if Uther hadn't taken us in. We got lucky but they still have to suffer. I just want to give them something to cheer them up."
"Well, I think it's very sweet of you," Morgana winked.
The dress Gwen had picked out truly was beautiful. Rowen felt almost bad wearing such a thing for a feast she didn't even want to attend but begrudgingly slid into the fine garment just before the servants arrived to help her. They were, by now, used to her strange independence and thought nothing of the fact the girl was already dressed. Instead, they simply settled for helping her style her hair and accessorize her outfit.
Once she was ready, Rowen returned to Morgana's chambers so they could head down to the banqueting hall together. Her jaw dropped when she saw her sister, "Are you trying to give Arthur heart failure?" she teased.
"Oh, hush. Arthur is the last person I'd be trying to impress," Morgana couldn't hide her blush and Gwen smiled softly from behind her mistress.
"As you say," Rowen smiled cheekily, "Shall we?"
As Rowen had suspected, Arthur did look like he was suffering heart failure when he saw Morgana waltz into the hall. The younger sister smirked and rolled her eyes. In some ways, she couldn't be more different to her sibling. Morgana was mature, sexy and beautiful, usually irresistible to most men. Rowen, on the other hand was cheeky, cute and cheerful, and most people just saw her as an adorable little girl. Not that she minded; Rowen had quickly discovered from a young age that she could get away with anything. Both girls, however, were smart, sharp, fierce and most of Camelot's men drooled after at least one of them.
Usually, Rowen loved feasts. There was always such a lovely buzz in the air while people celebrated and danced together. While she was always one of the youngest and didn't have anyone of her age to talk to, she was content to sit with her sister and Arthur and the knights would, more often than not, prove to be entertaining. Most of the fun started once the adults were drunk enough to start acting ridiculously without having a clue what they were doing. Rowen could always rely on someone to have a very strange, drunken conversation with that would leave her in fits of giggles and the other wouldn't remember ever having.
But the best thing about banquets was the next morning, when the castle was still and calm while its inhabitants nursed hangovers. She would always get out of bed early on these days and take a stroll around the grounds in the fresh morning air.
This, however, was one feast she didn't want to attend. She thought the way Uther went about punishing those with magic and then celebrating without a care in the world was sickening.
So now, she was sitting beside her sister, a forced polite smile plastered to her face as Lady Helen took her place on the small stage on the opposite side of the hall. The rest of the court lined the walls, eagerly awaiting the performance. There was no denying that the singer had a beautiful voice. Even Rowen thought the woman was very talented, but all she did was stand there and perhaps fling her arms around a bit. It was nothing interesting to solely dedicate any time to watching. In fact, in Rowen's opinion, the only type of music which should be listened to when doing nothing else, was a lullaby. Maybe that was why, as she allowed Lady Helen's voice to wash over her, Rowen's eyes were growing heavy and her head had drooped to hit the back of her chair. Her final thought before falling asleep completely was that hopefully, the king would drink himself to such a state that she would be forgiven for being so rude while their guest was performing.
Something thick and itchy was covering her body, tickling her nose and coating every inch of open skin. She sniffled and raised her hand groggily to rub away the substance, only to find her fingers tangled in it too. Rowen forced her heavy eyelids open and found everything obscured by a white fluff. Still sleepy from her unwanted nap, she pulled at the substance and tugged it away. She felt Morgana lean across from next to her and help before placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Rowen stood up and looked around, shocked to see a previously stable chandelier lying on the floor, completely squashing an old woman. An old woman wearing Lady Helen's dress. An old woman who was looking up in fury and throwing a dagger straight at Arthur.
Nobody had any time to react. Nobody except Merlin who was darting forward at superhuman speed and hauling Arthur out of the way so that the knife landed in the chair with a sickening crunch. Rowen did a double take. Merlin? Why was he at a court dinner celebration? This didn't seem to bother anyone else. They were gushing over the boy while the king decided on a reward. Rowen raised her eyebrow and looked to her sister.
"Are you alright?" Morgana asked, looking over the girl.
Rowen nodded anxiously, "I'm fine. What happened?"
"I don't know," Morgana pulled her into a hug, "Why don't you head up to bed? You don't need to stay here with-" she broke off and looked at the body of the woman.
Admittedly shaken, Rowen nodded frantically and hurriedly left the room to head to her chambers. She quickly changed and was just sitting down to brush out her hair when there was a soft knock at her door.
"Come in," she called, tugging at a stubborn tat with her brush. In the mirror, she saw her door open and a man enter cautiously.
"Merlin? What are you doing here?"
"Gaius sent me up with a potion to help calm your nerves so you can sleep. The Lady Morgana mentioned you were quite shaken."
"Gaius sent you?"
Merlin nodded, "He's looking after me. An old friend of my mother's."
Rowen smiled, "So that's why you're in Camelot," she took the bottle from his hand, "Well it was very kind of Gaius to think of me. Give him my thanks."
Merlin nodded, "I didn't realise when we met that you were so important."
"I'm not. Or I don't think so. Not really. My father was one of Uther's most trusted knights. He died in battle protecting him so the king took me and Morgana in as his wards. I was too young to remember him properly so all I've ever known is this, but Morgana tells me what a good man he was."
"I'm sorry," Merlin said.
"I saw what you did to save Arthur. It was very brave. Considering yesterday you were trying to kill each other."
"Yeah, well, look where it got me."
"Arthur's a good man, even if he can be a-"
"Prat?"
Rowen laughed, "Exactly. You should get some rest while you can. Enjoy your last early night for a very long time."
"This is early?"
"Compared to what you'll be having from now on if you're Arthur's servant."
Merlin groaned, "Brilliant."
"Goodnight, Merlin. And thank you."
He smiled softly and left the room, pulling the door shut behind him. Rowen stared after him for a while, curious about Camelot's strange new inhabitant. Merlin had a loveable charm about him that made her like the man, despite only meeting him properly twice.
Rowen quickly finished preparing herself for bed, dismissing the servant who came in to see if she needed assistance, and clambered into bed. She downed the potion Gaius had made for her and fell asleep dreaming of falling chandeliers and slaughtered sorcerers.
Knight Valiant was a very creepy man. From the way he fought in battle to the way he had charmed Lady Morgana so effortlessly, Rowen thought he was just vile.
When Merlin had pulled her aside in the corridor one day to ask her about magic, her uneasy feeling just increased.
"How much do you know about enchantments?" he had said urgently.
"Excuse me?"
"Magic," Merlin said, "I think Valiant's using it to cheat in the tournament. Sir Ewan was wounded by a snake bite and I caught Valiant feeding serpents that were-" he paused and gulped, "They were coming out of his shield."
"They're alive?"
"When he summons them," Merlin nodded, "Do you know if there's any way to disable the magic?"
"Merlin, I wish I could help, I really do, but studying magic in Camelot is very hard. I don't know enough. I'm sorry."
"I have to stop him fighting Arthur tomorrow."
"Speak to Arthur. He'll believe you." Merlin turned to go but Rowen caught his arm, "If there's anything I can do to help, let me know."
Merlin nodded his thanks and bolted from the room, presumably to speak to Arthur. Rowen stayed hidden in the corner Merlin had pulled her into and frowned slightly. She knew she wouldn't be of any help to Merlin in court matters. She was too young for her opinion to ever be considered. So, instead, she headed to Gaius' chambers and poked her head around the door.
"Gaius?"
"My Lady? Are you alright?" Gaius came forward and opened the door.
"I'm fine Gaius, I was just wondering if you needed any help looking after Sir Ewan."
"Running away from your tutors again, are you?"
Rowen smiled innocently. She was somewhat famous around the castle for skipping out on the lessons which the king insisted she attended.
"Not this time," she admitted, "I know you usually have Merlin to help you but he's been running after Arthur all day helping him prepare for tomorrow and I have nothing else to do."
"That's most kind of you," the physician smiled warmly, "I was actually just about to pop out to get some herbs. Would you mind watching him?"
"You found an antidote?"
"Yes, Merlin helped me to identify the snake which bit him so I was able to make up an antidote. He needs some rest before the king speaks to him."
"What does Uther want with him?" Rowen acted innocent and ignorant.
"Oh, he just is curious as to where the bite came from," Gaius lied.
"I see. Don't worry, Gaius, I'll look after him while you're gone."
"I don't plan on being too long," Gaius cupped the girl's cheek with his hand gently, "You are very thoughtful."
Rowen saw the man out of the room and turned to the knight's sleeping form on the bed on the far side of the room. She took a seat beside him, gently wiping away sweat from his brow with a cool cloth. For a few minutes, the room was silent, before Ewan groaned, and peeled his eyes open.
"How are you feeling?" Rowen asked kindly.
Curiously, the knight's eyes widened, as if in fear, and he looked past her shoulder.
"Perhaps you should get some more rest," she advised slowly, placing her hands on his shoulders. The knight only shook her off and sat up, looking like he was trying to position himself so as to protect her. Very slowly, she turned to look over her shoulder, horrified to see a sickly green snake slithering towards them. Instinctively, she shot to her feet, sadly not quite fast enough to avoid being bitten. The snake grabbed her around the arm and sank its horribly white teeth into her skin. She cried out as Ewan leaned forward and wrapped his fingers around its neck, forcing the snake to release its grasp. Rowen fell to the floor, clutching her bleeding arm in agony. She lifted her sleeve to inspect the damage, horrified to see a clear puss oozing out with the blood as the wound became infected already and the venom made its way into her system.
Head spinning, she looked up again, shocked to see Sir Ewan slumped, half on, half off the bed, unmistakably dead. Eyes wide, Rowen looked around the room for the snake, nearly jumping half a mile when she heard it hissing from just next to her. Panicking, she sent out a burst of magic and the serpent exploded, completely wiped out. Her foggy brain couldn't quite comprehend that now there was no evidence for Valiant using magic as she had just obliterated one snake and Merlin had chopped off the head of another. How many were left now to prove Valiant's guilt?
Desperately, Rowen tried to crawl over to the fallen knight to see if there was anything she could do to save him. But the fast-acting venom was blurring her vision and making her limbs impossible to control. The arm which the snake had mauled was shaky and weak, dripping blood all over the stone floor. Not even half-way to the bed, her body gave up completely and she flopped to the floor, face down and only hoping that someone would return in time to help.