OC name change from Audrey to Athena because I have a thing for Greek Goddesses and owls.

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Athena kept her hand on the knob, and raised a fist, knocking on the door firmly as she pushed it open.

"Come in!" she heard, but the voice seemed too young for her dear old friend. Pushing the door open, she was confronted by the boy she had seen helping Arthur up. The second he processed who she was, he dropped to one knee, and whispered the words, "My lady."

She sighed and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Please stand up. I am the High Princess, I know. But such formalities I am not wanting. I come here as a friend to Uther Pendragon and Gaius. May I ask your name?" Her words were soft and sweet, and she watched the tall boy stand. She held back a sigh of frustration, and continued to smile. Why were all the men in Camelot so damn tall? She herself stood at a mere five feet, three inches.

"My name's Merlin. How may I help you, My Lady?" His smile was contagious, and the boy seemed eager to please. It nearly made her jump with joy.

"Athena. Please call me Athena, Merlin. Here, we are equals. Do you understand?" She was practically pleading. In her Kingdom, her father, who just so happened to be the High King, treated all of the servants and their subjects with respect. He heard them all out, he listened to their problems, and tried to fix them. It pained her to see the servants of Camelot bow before her every time she passed.

"Yes, my L-… Athena." His smile was so sweet, she wanted to hug him.

"Where would Gaius be found, Merlin? I came to surprise him. That man was my favorite thing about this place when I was younger." Her eyes were shining. She loved Gaius, he was like a second father to her.

"Gaius is still with the villages. He should be back any minute now." Was Merlin's response. The boys' eyes wandered over the woman standing before him. His knees were all but trembling. The lady was beautiful. Her copper hair was to her waist, and seemed to hold the very wave of the sea. She was pleasantly rounded, a large bosom, a small waist, and hips that seemed to bed to be grabbed. Although she did seem uncomfortable where she was standing.

"My La-…Athena. What seems to trouble you?" Asked Merlin, clasping his hands together.

"Well, you see. The way I am dressed is very, very wearisome. Where I am from, I am free to wear mens clothing, aside from special occasions. But from what I see, every woman here seems to always wear dresses?" Athena sounded distressed, and Merlin was just confused. He'd never seen a woman naked, much less seen one in men's clothing. He opened his mouth to respond, when Gaius walked in.

"Ah, Merlin, who is this? What ails you, my dear?" Asked the man, taking off his outer jacket and hanging it. Athena's eyes lit up, and she pressed her pointer finger against her lips, winking at Merlin. The action turned the tips of the boys' cheeks pink, and he nodded silently.

"Oh, oh dear Gaius… I fear my ailment is incurable… Unless I get one thing…" Her voice was wavering, and it sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

"Goodness! And what would that be?" He sounded so worried, and she could hear him walking towards her.

"A hug from my favorite person on earth, of course! Did you forget your god-daughter already, you old man?" She said these words while turning around, lifting her arms slightly and letting out a small laugh, her eyes watering in happiness. Gaiuses reaction took a few moments to process. First, he stopped. Second, he blinked a couple of times. Third, he gave her the biggest smile Merlin had ever seen come from the man.

Gaius walked up and gave Athena a warm, happy hug, and the girl rested her forehead on his shoulder, hiding the couple of tears that shed from her eyes.

"I've missed you, my girl."

"And I, you, Gaius."

When they pulled away, she wiped her eyes and sniffled a little bit, before grinning again and holding the man's hand.

"What brings you here, after all this time?" Gaiuses question was expected, and she gave him the same answer she had given Uther.

"What sort of business? It must be important for your father to come all this way."

"He wouldn't tell me. I will learn the same time you will... But on to other matters."

She looked at Merlin, and pointed a finger at him.

"Where I live, servants get paid for their work. While I am here, I will ask you to help me. And as long as it is okay with Gaius, I will pay you ten shillings for every day you help me. Gaius, do you approve?"

She turned back to her friend, and he nodded. Merlin's face was bright, and he grinned.

"Now, your first task is finding which room they put me in, and finding me Guinevere so she may help me out of this damn dress." Merlin seemed a bit startled at her choice of words, but her shook it off and nodded, moving to the door and opening it for her. Before she left, she placed a kiss upon Gaiuses' cheek.

"I love you, Godfather."

"And I, you, my dear."

As they were walking down the hall, she asked Merlin questions about his life. How he came to be here, how he ended up being Gaiuses assistant, how he ended up stuck with being Arthurs servant. Just when she had said that, Arthur happened to walk out of his room.

"Nice to know you think so highly of me, my lady."

With those last two words, Arthur bowed down with an exaggerated sweep of his arm, and the tone of his voice was none too kind.

"Arthur Pendragon. I refuse to be disrespected, by an egotistical, rude, selfish prat. You may talk to me once you realize we aren't children anymore. Looks like your pride took most of the impact of lance." With the end of her sentence, she swept into the room Merlin had opened for her, which just so happened to be right next to Arthurs room. Her packs were placed on the bed, and the plush tan comforter looked very inviting. Just as Merlin was about to leave, she grabbed his hand, and slipped him 15 shillings, five more than she had promised.

"Find me Guinevere, please. I need out of this blasted dress."

"Yes, M-.. Athena." And with that, he was off, grinning wildly and practically clicking his heels. He had money, and from a beautiful woman! This day was amazing!