Disclaimer: still dont own Merlin...if i did I would be to um busy with Arthur

A.N. Thank you all who read/commented my story. This chapter is really a background one for the Lyanna. The first chapter was a taste of the future but of course to get to the heart of the story we need to go back to the begining..I am hoping to start season 1 of merlin in the next chapter but the story will have some flashbacks. also if anyone is interested in a more detailed look in Lyanna growing up. Let me know i was playing with the idea of doing oneshots. Also for any age confusion Lyanna is 4 years younger than Morgana 3 years younger than Arthur and 2 years younger than Gwen and Merlin. Please Review they make me happy and excited to post more of Lyanna's story!

"Lyannnaa, where is that wretched girl!" I heard my governess Molly yelled to herself. "That girl is as flighty as a bird"

I opened my eyes and giggled loudly. Molly has been watching me since I was born four years ago. She called me the wild child because I could never sit still. I was constantly dancing, running, dreaming and being well "unlady like". She was very dear to me and my family but you could easily tell she wished I took after my older sister Morgana. Who in her eyes was going to the perfect wife to who ever will be her lord husband. Morgana was eight years old and had the perfect balance of being proper yet outspoken when she needed to be. She had a slim silhouette with a beautiful angular face. I was small in size for my age with round pinch worthy cheeks. My hair was not in dark angelic ringlets as Gana's but looked as if a bird flew in to it and made its nest there. I finally left my hiding space to meet Molly and suffer another lecture on how little ladies should not be playing in the grass.

As we walked along the path we heard whispers and mutterings that made Molly's face distort to someone who looked very ill. She began to walk faster dragging me with her. When we finally reached the dining hall I saw Morgana looking terribly excited.

"Oh Lyanna, guess what? The King is coming...maybe father is with him!" she exclaimed.

I started bouncing on my toes. Father was the best friend of King Uther Pendragon and one of his best Generals in the battlefield. Our Mother, Vivianne who died in childbirth with me also was the best friend of Uther's late Queen Igraine. Father was a intelligant man with a heart of gold, a true lion like our house sigil and our coat of arms (black and red shield with 3 lion heads on it. He had to go take care of "business" for the king but promised me that when he came back he would teach me how to wield a sword. I was 2 years younger than Morgana was when she started lessons but I begged and pleaded with him for 5 days straight. Both Me and Morgana loved sword play and believed that girls should know how to protect themselves. Father said I would start light of course but all I heard was that the word start! He would alway smile and call me his little lioness while stroking my dark bushy hair.

The booming noises of footsteps filled the halls. I couldn't take it and ran to meet said footsteps. There in front of me was a man with a golden crown on top of his head his dark hair lightly fading with bags under his eyes.

"Your majesty" I started falling to a messy curtsey, "Is father with you?"

I gave the King no time to even attempt to answer me for I saw familiar Brown hair with tints of red on a man a group of knights were caring up the steps. I sped off to the man seeing as I got closer that it was my father Duke Gorlois.

"Father! Father! Why are you sleeping? I asked him

Then I heard a dreadful noise, my big sister, the girl always composed, breaking down in front of the King sobbing her eyes out. The king put his arms around her but she violently thrashed them away and ran to father sleeping form hugging him for dear sanity. I finally noticed that her arms were brushing against seven wooden sticks stuck on father stomach. His normally clean black clothing were without armour and stained with a substance that brought vomit to my mouth. This was not my lively father; this was a shell a replica of him.

The King reached for me and squatted down to eye level. His mouth began moving but all I could comprehend was "death" "mistake" and "sorry". That was all I needed to know though and began crying on the Kings shoulder. The King stood still for there for awhile then went over to Morgana; taking me with him. He told us that to honor our father's death he promised he would take care of us, so that we would become his wards. The only ladies of the royal household. He talked about us leaving our home and his son Arthur, who he hoped we would look as a foster brother. I only remember meeting the prince once and all that could be brought up was a golden hair boy with bright sapphires eyes and an arrogant smirk. The day passed as a blur with all the packing we did. All I could remember is being close to Morgana…at night we even shared the same room while we cried together making the promise that we would always be there for each other.

Camelot was a serious change. But as time went by and our father's death behind us, we adapted and began to feel like home. Camelot was brand new place filled with new and exciting things. King Uther was ever so understanding during the transition, always there for me and Gana although she seemed to distance herself from him for the first years. Fighting constantly about nothing and everything, I never knew what was going on. I only understood that Morgana's eyes changed when the King spoke to her, they changed to something that looked cold and beady. But as years went by and the King in a constant pursuit to win her affections her eyes changed back to the Morgana I knew and loved. Only rarely would they change back, but always it was when she would argue with the king breaching the subject that both Morgana and I feared.

When living in Camelot in less than a week, despite my young age, I came to conclusion that Arthur Pendragon was a JERK. He was constantly teasing me about my unruly hair or my chubbiness that for some reason wouldn't go away through my youth. As embarrassed as I was I would always yell back that he looks like a little girl and pull his hair. Arthur Pendragon at seven years old was not big and strong looking like the knights of Camelot he admired. He was small and lean, the only thing he had was speed. I would chase him everywhere all through the castle to the wood and some days when he was feeling nice (which were rare to start) we would go swimming in the lake till we would get all wrinkly. It seemed that Arthur preferred my annoying company than Morgana's arguments. King Uther told royal guests of Camelot that the reason they bickered so much was that they were both close to age. Arthur and Morgana were stimulating when they argued both with mouths moving fast, Arthur pinching his nose while Morgana would play with her hands. I quickly learned that Arthur saw Morgana as a threat when it came with his dad. King Uther spoiled me and Morgana both but it was not a secret that Morgana had a certain pull to the King that I never had. I too would get angry at him, when his ego seemed to be taking a hit because of a young girl he would remark that Morgana must have took the good looking traits of our family. Pushing me to rage, not that I didnt know Morgana was lovely but that Arthur thought she was. The only time we were all at peace with each other seemed to be when we were in swordsmanship lessons. Morgana and I both convinced King Uther on the idea. Both I and Gana seemed to relish in the glow of win when we brought Arthur down for surrender together. But as years went by and Arthur and Morgana would came to the early years of teenage hood we all went our separate ways.

I still stayed close with Morgana, but she was now a growing lady of the court and didn't have time for silly games. I wasn't lonely or sad for long; I made friends with the a few children of Camelot despite most of them being low born. I saw the parents were always hesitant but after a bit of eye blinking and smiling, they seemed to lighten up. I never did care for positions even though I would grow up and be like Morgana and lady of Camelot I didn't let my status get to my head which amused and annoyed the King greatly. Arthur seemed to be the exact opposite, blocking out his past commoner friends for the boys of great noble men. He started bullying around servants and trying to act like he was already King. I never found out who but someone must have given him the idea that he was some type of God who we all were meant to worship. The only two people who were never impressed at him seemed to be me and Morgana, which irked Arthur the most. Arthur was becoming a knight physically but had the attitude of a little boy. He was just too funny to give up teasing him and challenging him to a duel of blades (which most time he ignored stating that I was a lady and ladies don't wield swords)

At age 14 Morgana was give a handmaiden named Gwen. Gwen was a shy, pretty girl who almost always wore her hair up. She was also two years younger than Morgana and two years older than me. She was the perfect friend for both me and my sister especially when I found out she was the daughter of a blacksmith. It wasn't uncommon of me to go to his Shoppe and ask question after question about blades and amour. Tom, Gwen father was wary of me and Gwen's open friendship but seemed to get use to me stopping by. (Personally I think it wasn't tell he saw that the king didn't mind that much what I did)

When I entered the years of teenage hood, my appearance started to change. I knew I would never be a bold dark haired beauty like Morgana nor have a sweet delicate appearance of Gwen. I was my own person, my chubbiness melted away to curves that accented my small height. I was shorter than either my sister or best friend and seemed to be a lot curvier. With these changes came on the sport of flirting which I never was good at although I have been told otherwise by Gwen as her head went left to right slowly smiling knowingly at me and the prince. Arthur seemed to get either very warm faced around me quickly (even though that never stopped us from our challenge of wits) or he would get pissed off at his knights when he saw one of his knights staring at my –err- assets. My hair which I let grew out laid close to mid back and was still messy but not looking like a raven's home. I became more interested in lady like activities I had a knack for designing new dresses which Gwen perfected to making my designs come alive. King Uther started giving me allowances which I shared with the orphanage in Camelot. My other hobbies were singing stories of adventure and love while dancing and telling stories to entertain the little ones. I did not do it for appearances as Uther always seemed to have thought but because if it wasn't for a few circumstances, those lonely poor children without any parents or wealth, would be me and my sister. Plus I knew what it felt like to be without a mother and father. Morgana and I seemed to be getting closer again.

"Now dear sister you can to feel the pains and strife of sitting and watching sweaty men fight for your arm at a banquet!" she joked as she dramatically swept her hands on her heart, making both me and Gwen laugh till it started to hurt.

Camelot was my home at age eighteen, with no doubt in my mind. I loved the people and air although sometimes it could be overbearing. The kingdom in return loved both me and my sister, calling us the Camelot's beauty to Morgana and Camelot's princess to me. I didn't know what the future held for me but I for sure didn't expect what ended up happening.