Merlin was familiar with impossible things. Gaius believed that being born with magic made his entire existence impossible. Smiting someone down with lightning without even a word or surviving a Serket string apparently seemed to be impossible tasks according to the old physician as well. So when he somehow stumbled into what seemed to be like a forest through the back of a very wooden wardrobe, Merlin was not much surprised.

Although he did wonder how he always ended up in weird places. But he knew that all of this was Arthur's fault. Really, he never got into so much trouble when he was just a farm boy in Ealdor.

Dodging a goblet that came at his head and falling through the open door of a very wooden wardrobe had ultimately been the reason that Merlin had ended up thinking about the impossibilities of his life, because he had no other option to consider a forest inside a wardrobe as anything but.

Did he mention that he was standing at the edge of a forest with his feet planted firmly on the wooden floor of a wardrobe?

Yeah. He doesn't get it either.

So, not to point out the obvious things, Merlin was certainly sure that magic was involved somewhere, his skin was warm and tingling from the intensity of it, but there were no alarm bells that rang in his mind yet. The magic around him felt almost calm, trusting, as if he was being enveloped in a hug. And he hadn't even stepped into the woods yet.

And just because he couldn't keep his mouth shut about important things, and because the reason he ended up in this place was the Prat's fault in the first place, Merlin couldn't help but call out to the man who should be standing outside the wardrobe -and wasn't that a weird thought?-

"Oh you've got to be kidding me! Arthur, you have to come see this!"

Okay, so maybe alerting the King of a magic hating Kingdom that the gift he received from one of his most loyal advisors was actually a portal that leads to another world is not the wisest decision Merlin had ever made, but still, a magical land inside the King's wardrobe is still uncharted territory, and quite honestly, way above his pay grade -even if he has sworn to protect his King in anyway possible.-

"Merlin! You idiotic, bumbling, clumsy fool! Get out of the wardrobe you idiot!"

Even the muffled voice of Arthur Pendragon didn't seemed to deter the tingling feeling on Merlin's fingertips, the caution he felt in the unfamiliar territory is dampened by the absolute giddy feeling that rose in his chest, and he couldn't help the large grin that stretched on his lips.

Throwing caution to the wind, just as he usually does, Merlin stepped into the woods, a laugh bubbling from his throat. Everything felt so fresh, the magic -different, unfamiliar- yet so vibrant, playful, young, and he felt as if there was nothing holding him back. Along with the dry autumn leaves crunching under his feet, the sound of rustling leaves from the blowing wind, the slight tint of saltiness in the air, the woods felt alive and singing to his skin.

Ignoring the muffled voices that came from the other end of the wardrobe, knowing that it was Arthur, -and the Prat would either ignore him or follow him in, and neither made a difference to Merlin that moment- he placed his palm on a nearby tree, feeling the magic hum beneath his fingertips. This was joy. This was pure unbridled ecstasy that he never before felt in his life.

He further stepped into the woods breathing in fresh air, taking in the forest that surrounded him. The sound of the wind rustling the leaves of the trees calmed him, but he still felt the strange sense of unfamiliarity of the woods, even if he could ignore that he stumbled into these woods through a wardrobe and the magic humming on his skin, the soil under his boots, the musky sweet smell of the autumn leaves was different than any other forest in Camelot.

"Merlin!"

Speaking of Camelot, it was her King's voice laced with something akin to panic and concern that brought Merlin out of his stupor, to call back and put a tight lid on his own wandering magic that radiated off of him and turned around to the direction that he came to check on his King.

"Merlin!" It wasn't long before the raven haired man stumbled back to the entrance of the portal to find his King, dressed in the same simple red tunic, brown breeches and simple boots that Merlin had last seen him in. It was only when the dark haired man met Arthur's wide panicked eyes that he realized exactly what kind of a rabbit hole they had fallen into.

The King's shoulders were stiff and his jaw was set, gritting his teeth as his hands twitched at his sides, trying to grab his non existent sword at his hips, his skin a shade paler than usual, terror and concern and panic swirling in the depths of his eyes. Merlin had never seen him so out of his element before. But as soon as the blond haired man saw him, those emotions changed to a mix of relief and dreaded apprehension. Merlin quickened his place, almost stumbling down on his last step as he avoided a rock that was jutting out from the earth.

His elbow was gripped by a hand, barely stopping him from planting his face on the ground. When he finally managed to gain his balance, Merlin nodded to his King gratefully but the tight hold of his arm was never released.

"Where were you going you idiot?" Arthur spoke through gritted teeth, his tense muscles, his posture betraying his fear and concern. It wasn't an expression that Merlin was wishing to see on his friend's face in a long time, and he hated that there was nothing he could do about it.

"Well," the raven-haired man said, shrugging his shoulders as he looked at the forest stretched before them. "Looks like there is a land inside the wardrobe after all."

"Merlin?"

"Yes sire?"

"Why do I have a forest at the back of my wardrobe?" the King asked with brazen cheer, a hint of maniac fear in his tone, ignoring Merlin's previous statement as if he hadn't spoken at all.

"I haven't got a clue sire."

Arthur twitched, his lips turning into a frown, his golden hair ruffled as the wind blew softly around them. Merlin supposed he should also be on alert and vigilant, looking out for someone to make an attempt on the King's life, but all he could feel was contentment, and that was more dreadful than the usual level of paranoia that he should feel.

Before either of them could think about what they were going to do next, their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone blowing a horn. The sound was rich, melodious, but Merlin could not appreciate the sound when all he could think about was that someone was here in this magical land through the wardrobe and they were important and in trouble.

His magic screamed for him to look, search for the one who blew the horn- but no. He could not, he would not leave Arthur ungraded and without a sword in his hand. Merlin took one tentative look at his fiend, his King, because no matter how much he wanted to, he wouldn't go against him.

He was both relieved and disappointed when Arthur gave him a nod and brushed past him towards the direction of the sound of the horn, unarmed and unarmored. The servant sighed, Gaius usually called him reckless, which was fair. But this? This takes the cake.

It wasn't long until Merlin caught up with Arthur, the forest lessening as they walked further and the soil under their boots became more sandy. The King paused along with Merlin, who almost lodged his Master's elbow into his ribs. The raven haired man opened his mouth to complain, but stopped just as he heard the clink of metal hitting metal.

An ambush was what it was. Several men, no less than six or seven dressed in strange leather armor, were attacking a lone traveler who was expertly wielding a sword, in a valley between a rocky mountain and the forest. The traveler's steed was pacing several paces away from them, spooked and distressed. Merlin was fascinated to watch the fight, but he knew that he should do something to help because he was certain that this was the person who blew the horn.

Merlin darted his eyes around, searching for something, until he realized that Arthur had already made his way towards the battleground, without a sword.

The traveler parried a thrust from their attacker with their sword, while stepping back to the field of another man's field of attack. Merlin managed to heat the second attacker's hilt enough to surprise the man and watched as the traveler sent their sword through his gut.

Arthur meanwhile had somehow disarmed a man and procured his sword, running the man through with little effort.

Merlin stumbled into the valley, hoping to get the spooked steed away from the battlefield, if one of the men lost his balance and slipped on the sandy floor, it was nothing but coincidence.

Merlin kept an eye on the traveler just in case they needed any more help, and saw that they were fending off two more of the attacking men. Swords clashed, thrust- thrust -thrust- parry and one of the men was disarmed, while the other swung his sword at their back. Merlin only had time to cry out to the stranger in warning, and they ducked, slashing their shoulder from what could have been a serious blow. A cry of pain left their lips as they fell on their back, waiting for the blow, only to be saved by Arthur who ran the man through with his acquired sword.

Silence fell upon the valley as the three survivors took their time to breathe, Arthur ran his eyes through the surroundings searching for more assailants, the traveler looking around at the battlefield and Merlin, found his way towards the horse, placing his hand on it's nose, gently extending his magic to calm the steed.

"You-" The stranger spoke from the forest floor, breathing through their nose as if in pain. "You saved my life"

Arthur reached out to help them up, and Merlin realized as the hood slipped down to the shoulders, revealing a face with dazzling blue eyes with hair as golden as the rising sun and- oh, she was a beauty.

Even Arthur with his expression, looked to be speechless, and Merlin was grateful he wasn't the only one acting stupid.

She released his arm and stepped back, her hands reaching out to the clasp of the cloak at her neck. "I am indebted to both of you for your assistance. Are you both alright?"

The King, who bilked as if broken by a spell, looked at Merlin and met his eyes. The raven haired man nodded back, silently letting him know that he will follow the King's lead.

"It is of no trouble milady, we're simply happy to help those in need of ours" said the King, and Merlin couldn't help but snort, as given their record, helping out strangers in the woods almost always ended up with them getting in trouble. Unfortunately, his snort was heard by the lady and royal, and the servant avoided the latter's withering gaze to meet the lady's amused eyes.

"It seems," The lady said to Arthur with good grace, clasping her shoulder with her right hand. "That your companion doesn't seem to agree with you."

"Well, it sometimes leads us into a bit of trouble," Merlin said with a shrug as he patted the horse's muzzle and its neck, dark velvet coat soothing under his hands, his eyes fell on to the the lady's shoulder, which Merlin realized was now damped with blood.

"You're injured!" Both Arthur and Merlin exclaimed at the same time, and the lady all but waved them off as she shook her head. Something gleamed on her head in the sunlight, but Merlin couldn't divide his attention from his potential patient.

"I will be alright" said the lady, letting the cloak fall onto the ground. "It's nothing but a scratch of a blade" She wore a simple long jade green dress, with a small line of patterns embroidered in golden thread at the hem.

But Merlin needed to be sure, he'd had enough experience with people hiding their injuries until the last possible moment. So he stepped forward. "Please, Milady, let me take a look. I am training as an apprentice physician"

Arthur looked at Merlin in mock doubt, which Merlin ignored, and extended his hand to the lady hoping his help would be accepted.

"Oh, alright!" Said the Lady with a roll of her eyes, and picked up her cloak on the ground to wipe the blood off her white skin. "I'm sure it's actually nothing more than a scratch"

Which was true. Although the cut was long that ran from the back of her neck to her shoulder blade, it was shallow, thus Merlin managed to dress up the wound with the best he could with a the lady's shredded cloak. he avoided touching her skin, and worked as how Gaius taught him, he had enough experience from complaining ladies of court who screamed at his ear just for the accidental bush of his hand.

"Oh, I am so sorry" the lady as merlin was dressing the wound. "It was extremely rude of me to not introduce myself. My name is Lucy" there was a snort from the horse this time, as if it was mocking the lady at her choice of words. Merlin Ignored the steed, as his eyes fell on her golden hair. A thin circlet of silver and golden vines wrapped around the crown of her head.

"Well met, Lady Lucy," said Arthur, "I am King Arthur of Camelot and that is Merlin. Do you know anything about why we came here to this land through the back of my wardrobe?"

Oh, this was going to be a long day.

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