[[ Hello :) thank you all so much for actually bothering to read this rubbish hah. I've been working on it for a few weeks now so it really means a lot. I don't know if changing up the timeline is confusing for you all, but I'm trying something new. Also, please review if you can. I love hearing what you all think x ]]

March 1994

The room was small and painted grey. There were no windows to let in light, only the door which was shut tightly behind Merlin the second he had stepped inside the room. He sat as still as a statue on the hard wooden chair, his hands clasped tightly in his lap to stop them from shaking. A large, bearded man sat opposite him, staring at him with a strange grin on his face that was making Merlin uncomfortable.
'So, Marvin.' The man spoke suddenly, with a booming voice that made Merlin flinch. 'Do you know why you're here?'
Merlin shook his head. He had need driven here three hours earlier by his foster mother, Gina, and left alone in the waiting room with the overweight, ginger receptionist that reminded Merlin of somebody that he used to know. He had been waiting for what felt like forever when finally the metal door opened and a giant had stepped out.
'Do you remember the night that the orphanage burned down?' Merlin shivered. Of course he remembered that night. It had changed his life in more ways than one. He'd lost one of his best friends and gained a new home all in a matter of hours. Though he can't remember the small period of time in which the orphanage was burning, he remembers the trip to the hospital and the agonising pain that gripped his heart as his beloved Nan passed away, a smile still on her face. Swallowing his tears, Merlin nodded his head.
'Alright.' The man smiled. 'Your mother- foster mother, sorry, was worried about these dreams of yours, Martin. She thinks you needed some help getting over them.'
'I don't need help.' Merlin insisted, weakly. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, as he had done his whole life. The dreams were nothing more than that; images that his brain created to fill the space as he slept. The dreams he could handle. It was the images that came to him while he was doing everyday things that taunted his brain and kept him awake at nights. It was the random flashes of burning wood and melting skin, or the sound of screams or the smell of fire that would cause him to stop in his tracks and fall to his knees in a heap of sorrow and tears. He knew he could never tell people that, though. He wasn't crazy, but he knew they would tell him that he was.
'Theres nothing wrong with me.'
'Nobodies saying there's something wrong, Martin. We're just concerned that you can't let this go. It was over a year ago, after all. You need to move on and focus on your future and not what happened that night.' Merlin let out an irritated sigh and turned his gaze to the window.
'You weren't there. You didn't see-'
'I saw the aftermath.'
'Maybe,' Merlin scoffed. 'But you weren't in that building as it burned, you didn't have to abandon your friends to save your own life. You didn't watch innocent children burn.' He pushed himself to his feet, knocking the chair backwards. 'I want to go home now please.' He stated, willing himself not to cry.
'But you've only just got here.'
'I don't care! I want to go.'

'How did it go, honey?'
Merlin slammed the car door shut behind him as he shuffled into the back seat, his cheeks burning red. In the seat beside him, his foster brother Mordred chuckled.
'That well, huh?' Gina smiled at him through the rear view mirror and Merlin smiled back. Though he'd only lived with this family for a month, Merlin had never felt more like he was part of a family, though Mordred clearly disliked him. It was just the tree of them and their puppy, Excalibur, and Merlin had never been more content.
As his bedroom door shut behind him, Merlin dropped his jacket on the ground and switched on the light. It wasn't as big a room as he had at the orphanage, Mordred had the biggest room because he was here first, but it was warm and cosy and it was his, and that's all the reason he needed to love it. It was his escape from school and from Mordred and life in general. It was the only place in the world that he felt safe.

It was the first day of a new term at Wyndivere primary, and rain clouds filled the sky. Merlin stared absently out if the car window, dressed in a scratchy white shirt and a pair of shoes that he barely fit into. They were Mordred's once, of course, most of his things were as Gina couldn't afford much. Small spots of rain hit the window and Merlin rolled his eyes. If it rained any harder, gym class would be cancelled and the class would have to sit in a classroom for an hour writing an essay on football or running or the Olympics, and in top of that the teacher usually just left them to it which meant the bullies would have an excuse to torment him for an extra hour today. As the cars engine burst into life, Merlin shut his eyes and rested his head against the cool glass window.

...A scream echoed through the night, waking Merlin from his slumber. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, but he could see nothing. The room was filled with thick black smoke, and he began to cough...

'Hey, sleeping beauty, wake up. We're here.' Mordred roughly shook him awake, a snide grin plastered across his face. Merlin glanced out of the window. The school stared back at him unwelcoming. Students filed in through the door, dressed in the same dull outfit as he was. Stepping out into the cold morning, Merlin waved Gina goodbye and followed the line of children into the school.