Disclaimer: I own nothing related to BBC's Merlin or anything related to the different fandoms. I only own the OC. Also, I'm sorry for the late update, I was having a bit of writer's block on this story. Thanks for the reviews and favorites.

Laya couldn't believe the way things were playing out. It was working out so well that something was bound to go wrong sooner or later. The night she had met King Uther they had moved both her and Merlin to an adjoining room across from Arthur's. The room was huge and mostly empty being that she had came with nothing. Uther had informed her that he had ordered dresses and such for her and furniture for the room. She heaved a sigh; she had been thinking that she and Merlin should talk so that she could tell him the truth about her in case she had slipped up and accidentally said something she shouldn't have. It might prove to be a problem because there is no drinking law here and they might be insulted if she didn't drink it. She hadn't drank before, mainly because her brother knew when she was lying and she knew she wouldn't be able to create one that was close to believable.

She crossed to the door that connected her room to Merlin's and knocked softly. "Merlin?" she asked. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah." he called from his side of the door.

She opened the door and saw that he was polishing Arthur's armor and boots for the next morning. "Oh, if you're busy, I can come back." she said.

"No. I need to take a break anyway," he said, putting the rag to the side. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling. "Just not used to such a big room."

"Me either." he said, sitting back on the bed.

"I was hoping that we could talk." she said, picking at her finger a bit.

"About what?" he asked.

"Well, about my time. You see, not all of what I told you was the truth. So I was hoping that we could talk so that if I slip up you can cover me." She rubbed her toe against the flooring.

"Of course." he said, patting the bed next to him. "I think that's a good idea."

She smiled and sat on his bed. "So, let's go over the entirety of the lie and I'll explain more."

"Okay, so the first part is that we are cousins," Merlin said, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders.

"That may end up being true, I'll have to have a test done when I get back, maybe look into both sides of my family."

"Could you imagine if we were related?" he laughed.

"That would be so cool." she smiled.

"Cool? Why would that be cold?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"No. Not that type of cool. In my time, cool means 'really nice'. Unless you're talking to an ass...then you say it to get them to shut their mouths."

He nodded. "Okay, the next part is that your parents and brother are dead."

"Well, that where is gets a little trickier." She said, looking into the fire that Merlin was using for light and heat. "My mother is dead. She passed away when Artie and I were younger. I was about nine when she passed, Artie was about thirteen. She was...the most amazing woman ever. She was the type of person that would give you the shirt off her back and everything she had. She always made time for me and Artie, playing with us, helping us with homework. She always told us to follow our dreams no matter how outlandish they seemed." She pulled her legs to her chest. "She had an illness, one day she was fine and the next she was gone."

Merlin sat there in silence next to her. "And your father?"

"We lived in the same house but we never really knew each other. According to Artie, he was really involved with us when my mother was alive. He would take me to dance class and play with me and him. Once mom died, we never really saw him again. He would sit there for whatever meal, me and Artie eating quietly; him reading the paper. The only time he really said anything to us was if we failed a test or something. That lasted till I was about sixteen...then he began to talk to me again. He was so interested in my day or what was going on in my life...I loved it. Artie was about to graduate high school and getting ready to work with dad in his business, so I knew that he wouldn't be around a lot anymore." She took a shuddering breath. "One night, when Artie was working late, dad came to my room...A-And then he..." She paused and took a deep breath. "began t-to touch me."

"Your dad?" Merlin asked. "I mean, around here it's normal for cousins to do that. They try and keep it in the family."

Laya nodded. "I know but in my time; science has proved that 'keeping it in the family' has led to some health problems, and is actually frowned upon." She leaned her head his shoulder. "Anyway, it went on like that for about a year."

"How did it stop?" he asked, draping his arm around her shoulders.

"Artie." she whispered. "He noticed that I was pulling away from him and the other things that I loved and that I wasn't eating. He made me tell him what the problem was. Once he knew, he began the overly complicated procedures so that he would have full custody of me, since I was still underage. But since he was old enough and had a good job, they gave it to him. It also helped that there was undeniable proof of what my father did to me. We moved away from that place."

"Well, that's good then." Merlin said, rubbing her shoulder. "It's good that your brother cared enough to take you away from that."

"Yeah." She smiled. "He's the best big brother ever. I've read books about you but it never said, do you have any siblings?"

"No." he said, a bit sadly. "It was just me and my mum. My father left before I was born. He never knew about me till a few months ago. It didn't last long though. He died, protecting Arthur and I."

"I'm sorry that you didn't get to know him." she said softly.

"It's okay. From what I saw, he was a good man." Merlin said with a smile. "Now, it's getting late, it's time for sleep."

"Okay...Can I stay here tonight?" She asked, noticing that he was putting his work away for the night.

"Of course," he said, smiling. "I'll wake you after I wake Arthur."

"Can I help you with your chores?" she asked. "I'm not really needed till the night time. Though, I might need you to use your...ability to make the songs sound more this period. I can't risk copyright."

"Copyright?" he asked, climbing back into the bed. "What's that?"

"It means that if someone finds out that I'm using the music and words, I'd have to pay a lot of money."

"Oh." he asked, covering them both. "Tell me a story from your time."

"Hmm...Well there is one that I remember my mom reading to me all the time...it's a little sad though." she said, looking at him.

"Tell it to me anyway." he said, smiling. "You can tell me another one tomorrow."

She smiled back and began to tell him, from memory, the story of the little match girl.