Three; Prince Arthur's Manservant
Lynette entered her room to check on her cousin after his fight with Arthur. What she found was Merlin sitting up on his bed with his shirt off and his back littered with bruises. Gaius was already putting some ointment on his wounds while Lynette noticed the depressed look on Merlin's face. She wondered what she had missed.
She walked towards the pair and sat on the floor placing her hands on Merlin's knees, "What's wrong Merlin? I don't like it when you frown."
Merlin looked at her, producing a weak smile before looking at Gaius, "You don't know why I was born like this, do you?"
Gaius shook his head, "No."
"I'm not a monster, am I?"
Lynette and Gaius stared at him in shock. The blonde felt incredibly sad that this was how he interpreted his magic. It was a gift that many didn't possess and many more used it for evil rather than good.
"Don't ever think that!" Lynette yelled, grabbing his hands. "You are a wonderful person Merlin."
"Then why am I like this?" Merlin asked, glaring at her and releasing her hands. "Please, I need to know why."
"Maybe there's someone with more knowledge than us." Lynette suggested looking at her father, who only nodded.
"If you can't tell me, no one can."
Lynette was happy to know that Merlin believed in them but was sad that her father's knowledge or even her own couldn't help him. All she wanted to do was help Merlin but they were limited in the resources they could use. It was forbidden to practice magic, let alone study it.
Gaius poured a small portion of a potion into a tiny cup before handing it to Merlin, "Take this it will help with the pain."
With that last word Gaius left Merlin and Lynette to change and get ready for bed. She placed a kiss atop the boy's head before pulling the blanket tighter around his tired frame. He looked up at her and had a renewed look of sorrow.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to baby you." Lynette said, stepping away from him.
"You didn't." Merlin said, shaking his head. "You just made me realize how much I miss my mother."
"What is she like?"
Merlin's sorrowful eyes brightened as he described Hunith, "She has a kind heart and an open mind. She always told me that I was special and to use my gifts for good."
"When did you first discover your powers?"
Merlin chuckled, "My mother told me when I was little that I would make spoons and forks float in the air. Apparently she could never find anything in the kitchen cause I would always hide it up in the air."
"I'm sure she loved to see you smile though."
"That she did." Merlin said with a fond look in his eyes. "She has always supported me and raised me to embrace my gifts, but she was also cautious."
Lynette smiled and sat down on the bed across from her cousin. His mood had done a complete one eighty as he told her stories of Ealdor and his life with his mother. He made it sound like paradise as Lynette curled up with her pillow while continuing to listen. The sound of his voice lulled her into a dreamless sleep where she could only hope that tomorrow would be more pleasant and leave Merlin smiling like he was now.
To say Lynette was irritated with Merlin would be a massive understatement. She had fallen into a peaceful sleep, curled up with her blanket and pillow, until her sweet cousin had decided to wake her up. It was in the early hours of the morning as he shook her awake claiming he had found the dragon Gaius had talked about that night. At first, she didn't believe him, but here she was standing in front of a golden talking dragon.
"Young warlock! I see you have returned," The dragon said in his wise tone holding a hint of disbelief that Merlin had returned so quickly. "And this time you have brought Miss Lynette."
Lynette was shocked when the dragon knew her name, "How do you know who I am?"
"You have a destiny which ties to both Merlin's and Arthur's." The dragon spoke with an air of confidence.
"What destiny? My only wish is to learn everything I can from my father and someday become a court physician."
"Arthur and Merlin are two sides of a coin, but you my dear are the coin. You are the voice of reason between the two."
The dragon was now talking in riddles and Lynette was starting to get frustrated. On the way to meet him Merlin had warned her that he would talk as such. He explained that not once since arriving had he received a straight answer and that was not likely to change in the future.
"What is my destiny? You never answered me." Lynette asked, more demanding that she had intended.
"My dear you are destined to marry Arthur Pendragon. The fates have foreseen that you are the once and future Queen!"
With that statement, the dragon flew away completely disregarding Lynette's pleas to tell her more. Merlin was clutching his side with tears in his eyes at the thought of his cousin marrying the prince. Lynette didn't find it so amusing and rounded on him with her signature eyebrow of doom.
"What's so funny, Merlin?"
"You have to marry a royal prat!" He wheezed out between laughter.
Lynette stared at him wanting to refute that statement, but something about the dragon's words stopped her. The rules were clear that Uther would have to make alliances in any way he could and the easiest way was through a political marriage. She knew Arthur was against being used in such a way, but she doubted that he would actually deny his father the satisfaction of an excellent match.
Later that evening Lynette could not stop thinking about what the dragon had told her. It weighed on her mind and it soon developed into a headache, but she pushed through. She didn't want to leave her father alone to deal with the onslaught of patients. The castle was the fullest it had been in awhile with Lady Helen's performance mere minutes away.
Lynette had been invited an hour before the banquet to dress with Lady Morgana and Gwen. They spent the hour laughing and chatting about the performance and Morgana vented that she would rather skip the feast, but Uther had insisted.
"I don't see why a man's death is cause for celebration." Morgana said behind the changing screen.
Gwen frowned and suggested, "Instead of celebrating why he died and the king's war on magic, we could secretly celebrate Thomas' life."
Lynette lit up at the idea, "What a fantastic idea Gwen! I know Thomas' would appreciate someone remembering him for things he did for Camelot."
"I'll always remember what he did for the orphans." Morgana said, stepping out in a maroon gown. "He put them first when no one else would and he should have been honored for that."
"Agreed."
The girls finished getting ready and together walked into the banquet hall capturing everyone's attention. Lynette found Merlin and her father easily in the crowd and laughed as her cousin stared at the king's ward. He looked like a gaping fish with the way his mouth hung open and his eyes wide in surprise.
Gwen linked arms with Lynette and together they left Morgana to fend for herself against some lust filled nobles and naive knights. Although they felt bad for leaving her on her own they weren't worried for Morgana's safety, but for the knights and nobles that dared to take advantage of her.
On their way over Lynette could feel a familiar pair of eyes on her and turned to see Arthur staring at her. He was surrounded by his knights as they joked about practice earlier that day. She sent him a gentle smile and winked before turning to greet her family.
"She looks great, doesn't she?" Gwen asked, looking over at Morgana.
"Like a queen!" Lynette added, causing Merlin to look at them and then back to Morgana.
"Yeah." He continued staring at her seemingly unaware that just by looking at the king's ward he could lose his head.
Lynette pinched Merlin's shoulder and watched as the poor boy came out of his daydream. He gave her a harsh glare, but she shrugged it off. She would have Merlin be mad at her for interrupting him, then having his head chopped off for staring too long at Morgana.
Gwen hadn't noticed the exchange between Merlin and Lynette. She just kept her eyes on her mistress letting out a soft sigh, "Some people are just born to be queen."
Merlin gave Lynette a knowing look to which she returned with a death glare, "Don't even think about it."
Gwen continued to be oblivious to her friend's glaring contest as she daydreamed of Morgana being queen. Lynette watched her friend and remembered a time when they would joke about what it would be like if either one of them became queen. Gwen had always dreamed of a better life for her and her father and Lynette wished with all of their heart that her hard work would pay off.
"Not that I'd want to be Morgana," Lynette stated, causing Gwen to look at her confused. "Who'd want to marry Arthur?"
"That's true." Gwen nodded.
Merlin chuckled at his cousin and looked over at Gwen, "Oh, come on, Gwen. I thought you liked those real rough, tough, save the world kind of men."
Gwen shook her head, "No, I like much more ordinary men like you."
"Gwen, believe me, I'm not ordinary."
Lynette mentally facepalmed at Merlin's statement. Comments like that could get him into trouble if he was not careful. Luckily Gwen didn't take what he said too seriously, instead she was focused on back peddling because her words had given away her true feelings in a very open way. It was obvious to Lynette that Gwen had developed a small crush on the boy, but her shyness kept her from declaring her feelings publicly.
Eventually Gwen fell silent not wanting to make it worse and instead pointed out the concert that was about to begin. Silence enveloped the banquet hall as Uther's guests seated themselves down. Lynette and Merlin moved to stand to the right of Arthur and Gwen joined Morgana.
Once everyone was situated, Uther stood and announced that night's entertainment, "We have enjoyed twenty years of peace and prosperity. It has brought the kingdom and myself many pleasures, but few can compare with the honor of introducing Lady Helen of Mora."
The room filled with applause and Lynette clapped politely with the others though she wasn't a big fan of Lady Helen's music. She had heard the lady sing once before at Arthur's birthday celebration. Arthur, Morgana, and Lynette had been children at the time and by the end of the concert Uther and Gaius had found all three asleep. They had been curled up sharing Arthur's cloak that he had been forced to wear.
Lynette listened as the soft music began and the room listened to the woman before them. The song was captivating, but Lynette couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Court members had begun to fall asleep one by one and with each one Lynette grew increasingly concerned. She looked over at Merlin, who stood beside her, only to find he was already looking at her with worry.
Together they press their hands over their ears blocking out the enchanting words that had once been a beautiful song. Lynette watched in terror as cobwebs began forming over the enchanted sleepers and she took a step closer to Merlin. She was deathly afraid of spiders, rats, and snakes all thanks to a prank Arthur had pulled when they were in their teens. She snapped out of her trance when she noticed Merlin looking between Arthur and Lady Helen.
Lynette watched in horror as Lady Helen pulled a dagger from her sleeve and raised it in the prince's direction. She wanted to run and shove her out of the way, but she knew she wouldn't reach her in time. She had almost resulted in panicking when Merlin stepped up and magically dropped the chandelier on the unsuspecting singer.
The loud thud of the chandelier must have broken the spell on the court as court members began to stir. They looked around in confusion pulling off the cobwebs that covered them from head to toe. Lynette looked over at Uther and Arthur to see them standing up looking at the old woman, who had transformed back into Thomas' mother, and had tried to get her revenge.
Suddenly, the woman raised herself up once more and with the little strength she could muster she hurled the dagger at Arthur. She collapsed once more and Lynette watched in fear as the weapon came hurtling towards the heir to Camelot. Before she knew it both Arthur and Merlin were on the ground and the dagger was lodged in Arthur's chair, right where his heart had been.
Lynette wasted no time in and rushed over to where Arthur and Merlin were on the floor. She helped them up and checked them both for injuries. They assured her that they were fine, but she could still see the fear in their eyes. Never before had someone so blatantly tried to kill Arthur and Lynette was sure it wouldn't be the last.
Uther approached them clasping Arthur's shoulder, "You saved my boy's life. A debt must be repaid."
Merlin looked shocked at the king's offer, looking to his cousin to check if he was dreaming, he wasn't. He shook, denying the attention, but Uther wouldn't have it, "Don't be so modest. You shall be rewarded."
Merlin again tried to turn down the offer, "No, honestly, you don't have to, Your Highness."
"No, absolutely. This merits something quite special."
"Well..." Merlin looked down and Lynette held her breath.
Uther seemed to make up his mind after a moment and declared, "You shall be rewarded a position in the royal household. You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant."
The Court erupted into applause and Lynette burst into laughter. She shared an amused look with her father as he chuckled where he sat at the table. She looked over and caught both boys making similar faces of disgust. She would never let them live this moment down.
"Father!" Arthur called out looking over at the king in shock.
Lynette watched the two boys in amusement as they looked away from each other unhappily. She knew that if given the chance they could become great friends, but they would have to get over their differences. Things just got a whole lot more interesting in Camelot as the banquet continued.
That very next morning Merlin and Lynette sat on their beds talking about the events of the previous night. She was proud of Merlin when he received the honor of joining the royal household. Opportunities like this came once and a blue moon and Merlin had been lucky enough to have that chance. It would also be extra income for the family as they needed the money desperately. Lynette was confident that given enough time Arthur would come to like or even enjoy Merlin's company and vice versa..
"He's going to make my life a living hell." Merlin huffed.
Lynette shook her head, "Not all the time."
"So only some of the time? Great! I look forward to watching his royal ass."
Lynette patted his hand in sympathy, "If you need me to scold him just let me know."
"And be laughed at? No thank you."
"The offer still stands."
Their intense discussion about being a servant was put on hold when someone knocked on the door. Merlin called for them to enter and the door opened to reveal Gaius standing on the other side. He wore an amused look on his face and the cousins knew that he had heard every word of their conversation.
"Seems you're a hero."
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Merlin asked, puffing out his chest with pride.
Lynette poked him in the side causing his chest to deflate to normal size and said, "We knew it from the moment we met you that you were special. Remember when you saved my father's life? Uther saw your bravery as well and he would have been called a fool if he didn't reward you for your courage."
Merlin looked between his uncle and cousin, "But...that was magic."
Gaius nodded, "And now, it seems, you finally found a use for it."
Merlin gave him a confused look, "What do you mean?"
"We saw how you saved Arthur's life." Lynette explained. "Not many people would use your gifts for fear of being exposed, especially in front of the royal family."
Merlin shook his head, "Oh, no."
"Perhaps that's its purpose." Gaius suggested, agreeing with his daughter.
Merlin sighed looking at them, "My destiny."
"It must be true."
"Indeed." Gaius agreed and pulled out an old book wrapped in cloth. "This book was given to me when I was your age, but I have a feeling it will be of more use to you than it was to me."
The physician handed the book to Merlin, who unlatched the locks to look inside. He was surprised to see how worn the book was as he showed Lynette who had come to stand beside him. The symbols bore the mark of the old religion and Lynette was surprised that her father owned such a book and hadn't told her.
The contents made Merlin's eyes light up in awe as he stated, "But this is a book of magic."
Gaius nodded, "Which is why you must keep it hidden."
Merlin agreed and closed the book holding it close to his chest, "I will study every word."
"We know you will."
The family was interrupted by a guard announcing that Arthur needed Merlin in his chambers. Lynette took the book from Merlin's hands, wrapping it back up and holding it to her chest while Gaius placed his hand on Merlin's shoulder and pushed him towards the door.
"Your destiny's calling. You'd better find out what he wants."