Athena and Arthur looked at each other, utter masks of shock covering each of their faces, and in unison, they looked at their fathers, and yelled.

"What?"

But no one listened, everyone was too busy clapping, patting Arthur on the back, and praising Athena.

All went silent when Athena stalked up to her father, and the man's eyes went wide. Before his late wife had passed, she had quite the temper. And it seems that she had passed it onto her daughter. He just only prayed she was better at controlling it.

"Eochaid Faebar Glas, I refuse to marry Sir Arthur Pendragon, Crown Prince of Camelot."

Her words were thick with venom, and nobody but merlin seemed to notice the candles in their holder slightly flare up. Eochaid saw the purple glint in her eyes, and he knew they were all in trouble unless he could get her out and talk.

"Athena, my dear. Let us go for a walk, okay?" Their code words, "Go for a walk", usually meant that she needed to calm down. She nodded, and grabbed her father's hand, pulling him out of his seat, and dragging him down the hall. He looked back at the rest of the court, giving them a jokingly frightened look.

When they reached the courtyard, Athena turned towards her father, and immediately started beating on his chest.

"How could you! Why would you do this to me?! Do you know what in the bloody hell could happen if Uther, or Arthur, if ANYONE learns about me?! Do you, father!?" At this point, she was sobbing, and gripping the lapels of her father's evening coat, and she weakly slid down onto the ground, when she noticed they were completely surrounded by vines. And they were slowly crawling up her father's legs.

Sniffling, she touched the ground with her fingertip, and the vines slowly receded to the hedges, and she looked up at her father, heartbroken and betrayed.

"Athena. You are my only child, and when I pass, my kingdom will go onto you. I do not believe in the traditional ways, and I will trust you will make a magnificent Queen.

"Father, what of my powers? We have no idea what would happen if… If Uther found out. He'll have me burned at the stake!

It was when she saw a gangly, black haired boy hiding behind some hedges that she felt her heart jump into her throat unpleasantly.

"Merlin! How dare you!" She walked over to the hedges, and gripped him by his hair, pulling him from the hedges angrily. Although she didn't do it as rough as she'd like. He was still her friend, after all.

"N-No, I can help! I can help you!" squeaked the boy, sitting on his knees in front of her and her father.

"How's that, boy?" Her father seemed dubious, as was she.

"I- I have magic. I was born with it, Sire. I can help my lady Athena hide her powers." Merlin looked up, and he seemed so sincere, so nice.

"Prove it." Athena's tone was harsh, and tears were still brimming towards her eyes.

Merlin looked at her, and nodded. Looking at the cobblestone, and all the loose gravel there, she saw his eyes flash gold, the colour of a lion's mane in the sun, and there were suddenly… Small, dancing rock people? They were dancing, and all she could do was laugh in delight. She looked at her father, and she could see a touch of a smile upon his lips.

"How, how can you help me, Merlin? I've gone my entire life hiding it from people, but even if I did slip up, I wouldn't be put to death for it. My kingdom is far more liberal than yours.

"I have someone I can take you to see. He can answer some of your questions."

And with that, Merlin brought Athena to the Dragon. She would speak to her father later.

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"Dragon, I have a visitor!" called Merlin, and Athena was only mildly surprised. She knew that Uther kept a dragon hidden away, and in all honesty she wasn't too happy about it. No creature should be locked away, ever. But her eyes widened as she saw the majestic beast fly down, and she could just barely speak.

"He's gorgeous."

"Thank you, Princess." Replied the Dragon, and she smiled, her emotions running wild.

"I'm sorry." She said, looking at the chain attached to his foot.

"In all due time, I will be free my dear. Now what is it you've come to ask of me?" The Dragon was so polite, and she immediately loved him.

"How can I best get out of this deal, oh Dragon? For my father and Uther have arranged for Arthur and I to be married, much to mine and his dismay. I was born of magic, as was Merlin, and I worry that if Arthur and I marry, I will constantly be living in fear." Her words were desperate, and she was practically begging.

"This Camelot, it is nothing like my home. In my home, magic is not a death sentence. In my home, women are free to wear trousers and shirts, not these damn blasted dresses. In my home, I am not addressed as "My lady", or "Princess Athena" I am just me, albeit with higher power. How am I to live in a kingdom that is so dark, and traditional?"

At this point, tears were starting to slip off of her lashes, and Merlin just stood there, staying silent.

"Athena, I'm sorry to say, but it is your destiny to marry Prince Arthur. Just as it is Merlin's destiny to protect him. You and Merlin share this duty, and you may figure out that you will need to protect him sooner than you think. You must marry the Prince, and you will come to love him sooner than anyone could make possible." With these cryptic words, the magnificent beast flew off, leaving Athena with more questions than she entered with.

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When she returned to the banquet, the place was almost empty. Only a few remained, and the rest were servants cleaning up the places.

"I need something to do to distract me… Merlin, would you please wait here?"

He gave her a questioning look, but he nodded, and she dashed off, running to her chambers and changed into a loose shirt, that ties at the waist and wrists, and a loose pair of emerald trousers. Just as she left her room, she spotted Arthur leaving his. They made eye contact for a split second, and she did the only thing she could think of. She ran.

She ran straight down the stairs, and into the banquet hall. Where she immediately started picking up and piling plates. It took her a moment to realize that all had gone silent, and she looked around. All of the servants were looking at her, and she didn't even feel embarrassed. She just felt annoyed.

"What are you all looking at? Can't a girl help out once in awhile?" Her voice was obviously irritated, and she looked around.

"W-Well, my lady. We fear that if King Uther finds out you were helping, he'll have us all flogged."

Said one timid female servant, her voice shaking slightly. Athena walked up to her, she couldn't have been a day past 16.

"I want you to know that if he even threatens you because he sees me in the kitchen, I will do something about it. Do you all hear me? Because I am here right now, and I need a distraction. Cleaning is what I want to do. So let's get to it!" She clapped, and they all went back to work, the servant she had talked to seemed to have a small, happy smile on her face.

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Arthur watched Athena talk to the servants, hidden past the doorway. He didn't know what it was about that girl, but he didn't want to take his eyes off of her. But at the same time, she was the most infuriating, irritating, and bossy person he ever knew!

But he could tell she cared. She cared about servants, and peasants, and even royalty to some extent. Excluding him, obviously. And when he saw her like that, it made his heart twinge with guilt.

"Are you just going to stand there and stalk her?" Merlin's voice appeared behind him, and he jumped slightly, before shaking it off and looking at his servant.

"I am not stalking her. I'm just… Making sure everything gets cleaned up.

And with that, Arthur sulked off, back to his chambers and try to think up on how to get out of this damn marriage.