Hey everyone! I apologize on not updating sooner, but with school and everything... Anyways, I changed somethings and added a scene (not going to spoil it, you'll kust have to read it) to show how Arthur and Merlyn are starting to care about each other. Merlyn knows about her destiny now, and she is confused about her feelings. I'm hopfully (fingers crossed) going to be slowly building Merlyn and Arthur's (Merthur, Arthlyn? maybe you guys can help with a pairing name:P) relationship, but I'm not really patient enough to successfully create a slow burn relationship. I just want them to get together already! Over the next few chaps, you'll see them act differently, and maybe I'll do some Arthur POV in the Poisoned Chalice..? Okay.. enough of the AN. Read on, my lovelies! Xoxo Rosey
In a land of myth and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young girl. Her name: Merlyn.
Arthur has me wake up early and put on armor so he can train for the tournament, which means using me as a fighting dummy. Arthur is in his armor, except his helmet, and I'm wearing a helmet much too large for me.
"Ready?" Arthur asks me. I sigh, lifting the helmet so I can see him.
"Would it make any difference if I said no?" I ask him.
"Not really" He tells me and I draw my sword. Arthur attacks. .
"Body. Shield. Body. Shield." Arthur says and I use my sword to defend his attacks.
"Shield." I say.
"Head." Arthur tells me, which confuses me.
"Head? Ow." I ask and then he hits my helmet, which hurts.
"Come on, Merlyn. You're not even trying." He says, tagging me in the back.
"I am. Ah." I say.
"Once more." Arthur tells me.
"Oh, no." I complain.
"To the left. To the right. And left. Head." Arthur says, hitting me on the head again.
"Ow!" I exclaim.
"Come on, Merlyn! I've got a tournament to win." Arthur tells me.
"Can we stop now, please? Ow! Shield. Body." I ask him.
"Shield." Arthur says.
"Shield. Ah." I say.
"Ow." I exclaim as Arthur hits me on the head. I fall backwards and that stupid helmet rolls off.
"You're braver than you look. Most servants collapse after the first blow." He tells me, and that's the closest thing to a complement Arthur's ever given me, so I smile slightly.
"Is it over?" I ask him.
"That was just the warm up. How's your mace work coming along?" He asks me and I sigh. I head back to Gaius's and I drop all the armor as soon as I walk in the door.
"So, how was your first day as Arthur's servant?" Gaius asks, chuckling. I tap my head.
"Do you hear clanging?" I ask him. Gaius massages my shoulders.
"Ah! It was horrible. Ahh, and I've still got to learn all about tournament etiquette by the morning. OnhrÃne achtung bregdan." I say and a book slides to me on the table and opens up.
"Oi!" Gaius exclaims, slapping the back of my head lightly. "What've I told you about using magic like this?"
"If I could actually feel my arms, I'd pick up the book myself." I tell him.
"Never mind your arms. What do I do if you get caught?" He asks me seriously.
"What would you do?" I ask him.
"Well you just make sure it doesn't happen, for both our sakes." He answers going back to massaging my shoulders.
"Ah! I save Arthur from being killed and I end up as a servant. How is that fair?" I complain.
"I'm not sure fairness comes into it. You never know, it might be fun." Gaius says and I scoff.
"You think mucking out Arthur's horses is going to be fun? You should hear my list of duties." I tell him.
"We all have our duties. Even Arthur." Gaius reminds me.
"It must be so tough for him with all the girls and the glory." I say sarcastically.
"He is a future king. People expect so much of him. He's under a lot of pressure." Gaius tells me.
"Ah! That makes two of us." I mutter. I head over to Gwen's since she offered to help me learn how to put armor on Arthur.
"So, you've got voiders on the arms." Gwen tells me.
"Mm-mmm." I mumble.
"The hauberk goes over your chest." She says
"The chest. The arms. The chest." I tell her.
"I guess you know what to do with the helmet." She says and I laugh.
"Erm, yeah. Yeah, that was the only bit I'd figured out." I tell her and she giggles as I put the helmet on.
"How come you're so much better at this than me? Not that you could be much worse." I say.
"I'm the blacksmith's daughter. I know pretty much everything there is to know about armor, which is actually kind of sad." She tells me.
"No, it's brilliant! I knew we'd be good friends!" I tell her and she laughs. I head to the training grounds to get Arthur in his armor. I struggle getting the vembrace on his lower arm.
"You do know the tournament starts today?" He asks me, noticing I was struggling.
"Yes, Sire." I respond, fixing the buckle on the gorget.
"You nervous?" I ask him.
"I don't get nervous." Arthur replies.
"Really? I thought everyone got nervous." I say to him.
"Will you shut up!" I grab Arthur's cape, tie it on him and hand him his helmet.
"Great, yeah. I think you're all set." I say.
"Aren't you forgetting something? My sword." Arthur tells me.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, sorry. Guess, uh, you'll be needing that." I say and he grabs it, marching off. "That went well." I mutter to myself. Morgana and Gwen are already seated in the stands and I peek around the entrance as Uther walks past the knights.
"Knights of the realm, it's a great honor to welcome you to a tournament at Camelot. Over the next three days, you will come to put your bravery to the test, your skills as warriors, and of course, to challenge the reigning champion, my son, Prince Arthur. Only one can have the honor of being crowned champion, and he will receive a prize of 1,000 gold pieces." He says and a box is opened to show the gold. "It is in combat that we learn a knight's true nature, whether he is indeed a warrior or a coward. The tournament begins!" He announces and everybody cheers and the knights exit the arena. Arthur begins fighting a knight.
"Yeah. Come on!" I cheer from the sidelines. Arthur wins and the crowd cheers. "Yeah!" I cheer along with them.
"Knight Valiant looks pretty handy with a sword." I comment to Arthur. Valiant stops by Arthur as he exits the arena.
"May I offer my congratulations on your victories today?" He says to Arthur.
"Likewise." Arthur replies.
"I hope to see you at the reception tonight." He says, mostly to me and then leaves.
"Creep." I mutter and Arthur snorts and I smile at him. We look at each other for a minute before he clears his throat.
"Uh, for tomorrow you need to repair my shield, wash my tunic, clean my boots, sharpen my sword, and polish my chainmail." He tells me. So much for our moment.
"Yes, Sire." I say and head into the armory. I set his armor on the table and grab the brush. I thought notice one of the snakes on Valiant's shield blink at me but I brush it off. I hear someone come in and see that it's Valiant.
"Something I can help you with, my lord?" I ask him and he walks over to me, pushing me against the table, holding my arms so I can't push him away.
"Well, I hope so." He says, smiling wickedly and my eyes widen. I try to think of a way out of this, without exposing my magic. He crushes his lips to mine and I keep my mouth closed tightly, but he squeezes my throat with one hand until I have to gasp for breath and he shoves his tongue down my throat. I'm crying, tears pouring down my face and he tries to undo the lacing on my dress.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Arthur yells from the entrance of the armory tent. Valiant releases me and I sigh in relief.
"Nothing, Sire." He replies and I tighten the lacing on my dress. Arthur looks at me.
"What happened, Merlyn?" He asks, although, judging by the rage in his eyes, he knows the answer.
"I-I was p-putting the armor on the t-table and he c-came in and h-he was going t-to..." I say, my voice raspy. Valiant scoffs and Arthur turns to glare at him.
"You dare harm a subject of mine while you are a guest in this kingdom, Sir Valiant?" He asks him, his voice so cold, colder than I'd ever heard him. Valiant's eyes widen.
"I'm sorry, Sire." He says and Arthur shakes his head.
"You didn't hurt me. Apologize to the lady." He tells him and I raise an eyebrow at the title I don't deserve.
"I'm sorry, my lady." Valiant says to me, and Arthur dismisses him. Arthur looks at me and I feel my knees give out and he rushes over and catches me. I turn and sob into his chest and he wraps an arm around me while I cry. Once I am able to compose myself I push away from him and wipe the tears from my face.
"Thank you, Sire." I tell him, and he reaches out brushing his fingers over the bruises on my neck from Valiant's hand.
"I'll walk you back to Gaius's chambers." He tells me and I start to object. "I insist, Merlyn." He says and I nod, smiling slightly. We walk into Gaius's and he's working on a potion, pouring something from a bottle. He looks up and his eyes widen.
"What happened to you, Merlyn?" He asks me and I take in a breath shakily.
"I was in the armory and Sir Valiant tried to... he was going to.. he.." I start to say but can't say the actual words. Arthur puts his hand on my shoulder reassuringly.
"He tried to rape her. I walked in before he could, Thank God." Arthur says, his voice still angry and I don't understand why he's so upset. Gaius drops the bottle and hurries over to me, inspecting my bruises. Arthur turns to leave, but I stop him by grabbing his hand, and quickly remove it when I realize how inappropriate it was.
"Thank you." I tell him. He nods at me. "I'll be back to the training grounds before your next match." I tell him and he starts to object but I stop him. "I insist, Sire." He smiles slightly and leaves.
"He cares for you." Gaius says and I quickly look at him, raising my eyebrow.
"No he doesn't." I argue.
"He seemed quite upset. He must care a great deal to be that worried about your well-being." Gaius says , motioning for me to sit so he could look at my bruises. I decide to head up to my chamber and I use my magic to complete Arthur's checklist while I read the magic book Gaius gave me. Gaius enters my room and all of the objects drop, causing him to look at me.
"Are you using magic again?" He asks me.
"No." I reply, not looking up from my book.
"What's all this then?" He asks, gesturing to the stuff all over my floor. I shrug. "I just came to tell you supper's ready." He says and leaves. After supper, I head to Arthur's and find that all of his armor was brought to his room and placed on the spare table.
"I figured you wouldn't want to go back there." He explains and I smile at him.
"Thank you, Sire." I say and he nods.
"You did this all on your own?" He asks, gesturing to his armor. I nod.
"Yes, Sire." I tell him.
"Now let's see of you can get me into it without forgetting anything." He says and I successfully put on all his armor and hand him his helmet.
"That was much better. Not that it could have got any worse." He says.
"I'm a fast learner." I tell him.
"I hope, for your sake, that's true." Arthur says.
"Good luck, and Sire? Kick his ass." I tell him and he smiles before we head to the training grounds. Arthur marches into the arena and acknowledges the crowd, while I stand off to the side with Gaius.
"Is it my imagination, or are you beginning to enjoy yourself?" Gaius asks me, smirking.
"It..." I start, but end with a sigh. "It isn't totally horrible all the time." I tell him nonchalantly as Arthur fights his opponent.
"Yes!" I cheer, clapping enthusiastically. Valiant fights in the arena and knocks Sir Ewan know, whose helmet rolls off and Valiant pins him with his shield. Valiant hits Ewan with his shield and stands up, but Ewan is laying on the ground, not moving.
"I think he's seriously hurt." I tell Arthur as Gaius enters the arena with his medical bag. Later on, I head back to Gaius's chambers and put Arthur's armor on the table.
"How is he?" I ask Gaius.
"It's most odd. Look at this. See these two small wounds. Looks like a snake bite." Gaius tells me.
"How could he've been bitten by a snake? He was injured in the sword fight." I argue.
"But the symptoms are consistent with poisoning: slow pulse, fever, paralysis." Gaius explains.
"Can you heal him?" I ask him.
"Well, if it is a snake bite, I'll have to extract venom from the snake that bit him to make an antidote." He says.
"What happens if he doesn't get the antidote?" I ask, fearing the answer.
"Then I'm afraid there's nothing more I can do for him. He's going to die." Gaius tells me, confirming my fears.
"He was fighting Knight Valiant." I mumble to myself.
"What's that?" Gaius asks, clearly having heard me mumble.
"Nothing." I tell him and leave the chambers. I follow Valiant and watch him feed a live mouse to the serpents on his shield. I head back to Gaius's to tell him about what I saw.
"I've just seen one of the snakes in Valiant's shield come alive. He's using magic." I tell him.
"Are you sure?" He asks me.
"The snake ate a mouse - one swallow, straight down. Sir Ewan was fighting Valiant when he collapsed. It must've been one of the snakes from the shield. I have to tell Arthur." I say to him.
"Is there any chance you might be mistaken?" He asks, sounding slightly hopeful I was mistaken.
"I know magic when I see it." I tell him confidently.
"Perhaps, but have you any proof?" He asks.
"Don't you believe me?" I ask him.
"I fear you'll land yourself in trouble. How will you explain why you were in Valiant's chambers?" He asks me and I sigh.
"What does that matter? He's using magic to cheat in the tournament!" I ask, exasperated.
"But you can't go accusing a knight of using magic without proof. The King would never accept the word of servant over the word of a knight." Gaius explains to me.
"What? So what I say doesn't count for anything?" I ask, furiously.
"I'm afraid it counts for very little as far as the King is concerned. That's the way it is." Gaius tells me, harshly. The next day, Arthur and I are standing on the training grounds and we're watching a serving boy use a ladder to place a helmet on Arthur's opponent.
"You're telling me you've got to fight that?" I ask him, slightly worried.
"Yes, and he's strong as a bear. But he's slow." Arthur tells me.
"Ah, and you're fast." I interject and he nods.
"Exactly." He agrees. Arthur goes off to fight the giant knight and I stand off to the side as Gaius, reluctantly, approaches me.
"How're you getting on?" He asks me.
"Fine. Just doing my job. Minding my own business." I tell him, stiffly. Arthur fights the giant knight and wins, and Valiant wins his next match. We look at the final brackets.
"Valiant's going to fight Arthur in the final. He'll use the shield to kill him." I tell Gaius. Later I sit with Sir Ewan by the sickbed. Gaius enters and walks over to me.
"Merlyn, about what I said yesterday...Look, Uther wouldn't really listen to you or me, but you are right. We can't let Valiant get away with this." He tells me and I look up at him.
"But we don't have any proof." I state.
"Well, if we could cure Ewan, he could tell the King that Valiant was using magic. The King would believe another knight. But how we get the antidote...Well, that's another matter." Gaius says and I think of the snakes, and I get up and leave.
"Merlyn?" Gaius calls after me as I shut the door and head to Valiant's guest chambers. I say a spell to unlock the door and slip inside. I trace the snake with a stick and I hear footsteps coming down the hall. I turn towards the door, and hear hissing so I grab a sword and cut off the snake's head, grabbing it, careful not to touch it's fangs and hurry back to Gaius's chambers. Gaius extracts venom from the snake's fangs.
"I'll get started preparing the antidote." Gaius tells me.
"I'm going to tell Arthur." I turn to head to the door.
"You'll need this." Gaius tells me, handing me the snake head.
"And Merlyn, what you did was very brave." He tells me and I smile before heading to Arthur's chambers. Arthur is dining in his chambers when I come in.
"You? You chopped its head off?" He asks, incredulously.
"Ewan was bitten by a snake from the shield when he was fighting Valiant. You can talk to Gaius, you can see the puncture wounds in Ewan's neck where the snake bit him. Ewan was beating him, he had to cheat." I explain to him.
"Valiant wouldn't dare use magic in Camelot." Arthur denies.
"Ewan was pinned under Valiant's shield. No one could see the snake bite him." I tell him.
"I don't like the guy after what he did to you, but that doesn't mean he's cheating." Arthur says.
"Gaius is preparing an antidote to the snake venom. When Ewan's conscious, he'll tell you what happened. If you fight Valiant in the final, he'll use the shield. It's the only way he can beat you. Look at it!" I tell him, picking up the snake head. "Have you ever seen any snakes like this in Camelot?" I ask him and he takes the head, looking it over.
"I know I'm just a servant and my word doesn't count for anything. I wouldn't lie to you." I tell him.
"I want you to swear to me what you're telling me is true." Arthur says and I look him in the eyes.
"I swear it's true." I tell him.
"Then I believe you." Arthur says. We go to see Uther and the conversation doesn't end well, once Arthur slips and tells Uther I was the one to see the magic, Arthur had to apologize and we headed back to his chambers in silence. He stands facing away from me and I wring my hands together, playing with the sleeves on my brown dress, nervously.
"I believed you, I trusted you, and you made me look a complete fool." He says to me.
"I know it didn't go exactly to plan." I start to say.
"'Didn't go to plan'?! My father and the entire royal court think I'm a coward! YOU HUMILIATED ME!" He yells and I wince.
"We can still expose Valiant." I tell him.
"I no longer require your services." He tells me, coldly.
"You're sacking me?" I ask, not bothering to mask the hurt in my voice.
"I need a servant I can trust." Arthur says and I flinch at that comment.
"You can trust me!" I tell him.
"And look where it got me this time. Get out of my sight!" He dismisses me and I wait until I close his door before a sob escapes me, and I don't bother to wipe away the tears as I walk to the dragon's cave.
"Where are you? I just came to tell you: whatever you think my destiny, whatever it is you think I'm supposed to do, you've got the wrong person! That's it. Goodbye." I yell and the dragon flies down onto the rock in front of me.
'If only it were so easy to escape one's destiny.' He says.
"How can it be my destiny to protect someone, let alone marry someone, who hates me?" I ask him.
'A half cannot truly hate that which makes it whole. Very soon you shall learn that.'
"Oh, great. Just what I needed, another riddle." I say, scoffing.
'That your and Arthur's path lies together is but the truth.'
"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask him, confused.
'You know, young witch, this is not the end. It is the beginning.' And with that, he flies away.
"Just give me a straight answer!" I yell after him, knowing he can't hear me. After that, I sit on the palace steps and Gwen approaches.
"Hello Merlyn." She says to me.
"All right?" I ask and she sits next to me.
"Is it true what you said about Valiant using magic?" She asks me and I nod. "What are you going to do?" She asks me.
"Why does everyone seem to think it's down to me to do something about it?" I ask, putting my head in my hands.
"Because it is! Isn't it? You have to show everyone that you were right and they were wrong." She tells me and I sigh.
"And how do I do that?" I ask her.
"I don't know." She replies and I catch sight of a dog statue.
"That's it." I whisper, but Gwen hears me. I stand up.
"Where are you going?" She asks and I look at her.
"Do you have a wheelbarrow?" I ask her and she nods, confused. She helps me put the statue in the wheelbarrow and I say goodbye to her, heading back to Gaius's chambers. I open the door and wheel in the statue.
"What are you doing with that?" He asks, sounding confused.
"I'm going to let everyone see the snakes for themselves." I tell him, putting the statue in my chamber an pulling my magic book out from under a floor board.
"Bebay odothay. Bebay odothay arisan quickum." I read from the book and I look at the dog statue.
"Bebay odothay arisan quickum. Bebay odothay arisan quickum." I chant the spell. I try it over and over again, but nothing happens. I sigh and head back to Arthur's chambers. I enter and I see Arthur preparing for his fight.
"I thought I told you to get out of my sight." He says to me, not looking at me.
"Don't fight Valiant in the tournament tomorrow. He'll use the shield against you." I plead.
"I know." He tells me
"Then withdraw. You have to withdraw." I say to him, trying to get him to listen to me.
"Don't you understand? I can't withdraw. The people expect their prince to fight. How can I lead men into battle if they think I'm a coward?" He asks me, and I sigh.
"Valiant will kill you. If you fight, you die." I tell him.
"Then I die." Arthur says and I suck in a breath sharply.
"Don't say that. How can you go out there and fight like that?" I ask him, a tear falling down my cheek.
"Because I have to. It's my duty. And I also am fighting Valiant for you, for what he tried to do.. I can't let him get away with that, Merlyn." He tells me, turning to look at me, and I think I see him wince when he notices my tears. I look at him once more and quickly leave the room. I head back to my room and go straight to practicing the spell, until I fall asleep with my book in my lap. I wake early the next morning and drowsily chant the spell again. I mumble the spell again, with my eyes closed and hear a growl, but continue to chant the spell until I hear a dog bark.
"I did it!" I exclaim and the dog starts to lunge at me, but I hurry through the door and shut it.
"Arthur's fighting Valiant!" Gaius tells me.
"I know. I'm on my way. Oh, whatever you do, don't go into my room. We'll deal with it later." I call over my shoulder as I hurry out the door and over to the training grounds. Valiant pins Arthur to the wall but Arthur shoves him off, and I take the opportunity.
"Bebay odothay arisan quickum." I chant quietly and the snakes come out of the shield, causing the crowd to stand in surprise.
"What are you doing? I didn't summon you!" Valiant calls out to the snakes.
"He is using magic." Uther says, shocked.
"And now they see you for what you really are." Arthur says to Valiant. Valiant chuckles darkly and sends the snakes to the ground.
"Kill him!" He commands the and Arthur starts to back up, but I grab a sword from a knight standing next to me and I throw it to him.
"Arthur!" I yell and use a spell to make it look like a lucky throw. He catches it and swings at Valiant, before killing the snakes. Arthur disarms Valiant and runs him through.
"It looks like I'll be going to the feast after all." Arthur says to Valiant before he drops and the crowd cheers. Arthur stops by me for a moment and gives me a look, which includes a small smile.
"Care to accompany me to the feast?" He asks and my eyes widen. I nod silently and he chuckles.
Once at Gaius's, I change into the azure gown Morgana gave me and I left my curls loose, letting them hand to just above my waist. I fasten the necklace and open the door, catching Arthur off guard. He offers his arm and I take it, as we stop just outside the banquet hall to hear Uther announce Arthur. We walk in together and I feel all eyes on us, causing me to blush. We start to dance and I blush even more.
"Can you believe Morgana? She says you saved me. Like I needed any help. I wanted to say I made a mistake. It was unfair to sack you." He tells me and I raise an eyebrow.
"No, don't worry about it. Buy me a drink and call it even." I tell him, smiling and he looks surprised before clearing his throat.
"Uh, I can't be seen to be buying drinks for my servant." He tells me and I smirk.
"Your servant? You sacked me." I remind him.
"Now I'm rehiring you." He says and I snort.
"My chambers are a complete mess. My clothes need washing. My, uh, armour needs repairing. My boots need cleaning. My dogs need exercising. My fireplace needs sweeping. My bed needs changing. And someone needs to muck out my stables." He tells me and I sigh.