A/N: Thanks for all of the encouragement! I will definitely continue this story. Also this is my Merlin's theme song: /watch?v=2uYs0gJD-LE
Merlin walked past the edge of Camelot, feeling relief wash over her as she stepped foot into the woods.
Home.
The smell, the magic of the earth, the druid camp only miles away did wonders for rejuvenating her. She walked until she hit a small brook, kneeling at its edge to clean her swords. The heat of midday had dried some of it and she had to scrape it off with her nails, her earlier frustration returning as she realized that she wasn't cleansing the blood just transferring it from her possessions to her body.
Merlin felt unreasonably hot and splashed water on her face. She was tempted to just be done with it and bathe or, at the very least dunk her head into the running water. But she couldn't afford to lose awareness of her surroundings, even for a minute. Who knew how many other thugs hid in the woods, just waiting to prey on passersby.
Not that she was easy prey. Merlin had mixed feelings about the afternoon. Those were not the first men Merlin had killed, but something about the encounter had left her shaken. Merlin shook her head to clear it and pressed her hands to her sides to stop their slight trembling. She had a mission to do and certainly no time for self-pity.
Steeling herself, she wiped her still wet blades on the grass and tucked them back into their holster. She needed to find three things: the witch sworn to kill Arthur, the former court sorcerer Gaius, and a place to sleep tonight.
Returning to the castle, she was surprised by the relative lack of security. None of the guards even attempted to stop her as she strolled through the hallways, easy as a bird, and visibly armed. She shrugged, it made her life easier, it's not like they would ever be any help in protecting Arthur anyways. Not the way that she intended to.
Following the source of magic, she found herself outside of what was supposed to be Lady Helen's rooms. Merlin crinkled her nose, the room smelled like death even from the hallway. Taking a deep breath of the cleaner hallway air, took a set of towels from a passing maid, and walked into the room.
"My Lady Helen." Merlin spoke, alerting the witch to her presence.
The woman whirled around and stared at Merlin, taking in her leather armor, weapons, and towels.
"Why have you brought me towels, young witch?" The Lady demanded.
"Eh, I don't know, thought I would keep up some pre-tense of not being here to kill you."
"You've come to kill me? There are not many of us left sister, it would be a shame if you forced me to end your life so soon."
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you."
"You've lost me."
"You are a threat to Arthur Pendragon. I am protecting him. Leave now and I will spare you. The execution of your son was unjust, but more death will not solve the situation."
The Lady Helen's face smiled sadly.
"How naïve you are. If you had children, you would understand that these old bones will not have peace until they have vengeance."
"Very well. Then it appears you have made your decision."
Merlin focused on her magic, calling lightning into her command, allowing it to crackle between her hands.
The old witch took a step backwards, shock evident on her face. Merlin took two steps forward, turning her palms towards her enemy.
The Lady Helen's face contorted into a scream as she was electrocuted before retaliating with a spell of her own. Merlin was suddenly thrown backwards, knocking against the wall behind her. Before she could get up and counter the attack, the old witch was gone in a flash of smoke.
"Coward!" Merlin yelled into the air, kicking the back of a chair in frustration.
Merlin rubbed the back of her neck, returning to the castle corridors to begin her search for the witch anew. Before she could locate the witch's magic, the castles bell tolled six times, signaling the beginning of the banquet. She cursed her inability to teleport herself as she raced through the castle.
Just then, the woman's magical signature became unbearably intense, Merlin followed it into the banquet hall, her magic slamming the doors open. At Merlin's loud entrance, the witch turned around.
"You're too late my dear." She gestured to the cobweb-covered members of the court, "They will sleep for 100 years and when they wake it will only be to discover the rotting corpse of their beloved Prince."
She resumed her siren's song, and Merlin wondered why she needed to sing still if the spell was complete. Merlin was on one side of the room and Arthur was on the other, when she noticed the witch pull out a dagger as she stalked towards the royal table. Looking around she noticed the chandelier above the Lady, with a flash of gold the thing came down onto the old witch's body, breaking the spell.
Slowly the members of the court began to wake and Merlin made her way over to the prince, checking for any signs of poisoning.
Suddenly, the old witch pushed herself off the ground and raised her dagger, throwing at the prince.
Merlin instinctively slowed time, pulling Arthur with her left hand and reaching to her belt with her right to unclip a small dagger which she threw at the sorceress. Merlin's weapon met its mark in the witch's left eye socket as its counterpart impaled the back of Arthur's throne.
The banquet hall dissolved into screams and hysteria as the ladies were escorted from the gruesome scene.
Merlin grimaced at the scene she had created, "Damned theater people. Always so bloody dramatic, even in death. Should've taken her head off her shoulders when I had the chance" she grumbled to herself.
In the midst of the chaos, Arthur looked up wonderingly at his savior. It was the woman from earlier in the market square. She was still grasping his red cloak with her left hand, holding him partially up as he knelt on one knee.
Noticing his staring, she released him and he stood, struck dumb.
Uther noticed his son's slack-jawed expression and, though shocked himself, did his best to maintain his composure. He reached out to shake her hand, which Merlin accepted.
"You saved my boy's life," he said gravely, "a debt must be repaid." He reached into his robes, searching for gold.
"You insult me with your money, Sire. It is not for your sake or even your son that I protected him, but for the nation." Merlin bit out, turning to leave as she watched the guards struggle to remove the old woman's body from the hall.
Suddenly unfrozen, Arthur walked after her, "Wait! Please, there must be something we can do to repay this debt. You've saved my life."
"You defended me earlier today, the debt is repaid. All I wish now is to be left in peace."
He nodded and stepped back, "At least then, please, tell me your name."
She looked into his eyes for a moment, considering.
Names were powerful things.
Still she did not want to further incite his curiosity about her. She considered giving him a common name lie "Mary" or "Lynn" or even "Hunith." But as long as he did not know her true name, Emrys, she supposed there was nothing wrong with knowing her birth name. So she sighed looked up and said simply:
"Merlin."
The guards were still struggling to remove the old sorceress's body from beneath the chandelier. As she walked past them, she bent down and retrieved her dagger from its victim, curling a lip in disgust as blood oozed from the wound.
Arthur stared at the ceiling that night as he lay in bed.
"Merlin." He whispered, testing the name. It tasted strange in his mouth.
"Merlin." He repeated. "Merlin, Merlin." He tried. No, he thought, it still seemed strange. What kind of name was that anyways? Who was she?
It was humiliating to be saved from a woman by another woman. But at least his assailant had magic. His protector looked to be a teenage girl who weighed no more than a hundred pounds, with nothing obviously special about her.
His protector.
And that was another thing! She had said "I 'defend' Arthur" not 'defended' present tense. What was she? Some sort of dark guardian angel? Had his father asked her to watch over him in secret?
He shared his thoughts with his father at breakfast who merely laughed at his questions.
"Son, any citizen in Camelot would die for you. And so they should."
"But she was a woman" he whined. "And where does a woman learn to fight like that? And why wasn't she affected by the spell?"
"My son, sometimes you must simply learn to be grateful. Perhaps her father was a soldier and taught her."
"But I've never seen her before and surely we would know of such a weaponized daughter. It is . . . unorthodox to say the least."
"Arthur." Uther switched from loving paternal tone, to a more commanding one.
"Yes, father?"
"Leave it. I will ask around, but do not go looking for her. I'm grateful that she came to our aid, but she is dangerous. Do not agitate her. I would not want to make an enemy of her. Now head along to your training I'm sure your nights are wondering where you might be."
"Yes, my Lord." He answered; feeling annoyed at his father's condescending command, but accepting his dismissal.
Merlin awoke to ash at her feet, leaves stuck to her face, and a hilt digging into her side. A twig crunched nearby and Merlin lithely curled into a crouching position still dirty dagger at the ready. Slowly she straightened into a standing position, pressing her back against the tree she had fallen asleep beneath.
Reaching out with her magic, she assessed the area around her. One life form, nearby, not magical. Peering around the oak, the tension dissipated from her body when she saw the cause of her panic: a deer.
She was about to replace the dagger on her belt when her stomach growled. Peeking back to see if the deer had noticed her yet, she raised her weapon to eye level, before throwing it and felling the deer in one clean cut. She dressed the deer as her father had taught her and felt a bit silly when she realized she had nothing to cook it with.
It was relatively small, definitely a doe and light enough to carry round her shoulders. The weight was a burden, but nothing she couldn't handle. She needed to find a new home.
The benefit of being raised in the woods was that she could survive anywhere. Still, a cave would be ideal and she decided to hunt for one. A little bit of magic could turn a rough cave into a relatively hospitable home. Something the druids had taught her and her father.
Eventually she came across one, dumping the deer on the floor and leaving to collect wood. Checking for nearby signs of large mammals and finding none, she used her magic to hack down two ancient trees and carry their trunks to her new cave.
Her magic carved them into the things she would need: a spit for roasting, a small cot to put her bed roll on, a table, and a small bureau. She carved a hole above her fireplace for the smoke to escape, smiling at her make-shift chimney.
She smoothed the stone out, turning protrusions into benches and cabinets until she met the end of the cave. It was a good size, but also small enough that her witch's light illuminated it without much effort. Small enough that she would recognize any intruders easily.
She wondered if a wooden door would be too conspicuous and decided that it was. Using the excess stone at the mouth of the cave and created a sliding door of stone that would respond only to her magic.
Exhausted, she returned to her wooden cot and collapsed on it only to hear a voice calling in her head.
"Merlin" it whispered drawing out her name, "Merlin"
The dragon, she realized, rocketing into a seated position suddenly as awake as ever. She practically sprinted to back to the castle, legs and lungs burning in protest. She reached the stone stairs guarding the entrance easily enough to see two guards chatting amicably. Casting an invisibility spell, she thanked God that the gates were already open and she wouldn't have to alert the guards by clanking around down there.
She lit her witch's light, a small glowing orb which trailed behind her, as the darkness threatened to swallow her whole without it. She reached the small cliff of the dragon's abode and heard his laughter as she looked around, confused.
He must be very bored, she thought to herself, slightly annoyed at his antics. She extinguished her light and sat down on the ground, refusing to command that he show himself.
Dragons were powerful, she knew full well, and deserved respect even if they did not show it themselves. Besides, Kilgarrah was here in part because of her father so she decided that she could forgive his mind games.
Eventually he flew up, spreading his wings in an aggressive manor meant to declare dominance. Merlin would not be cowed. She gave a slight bow.
"Kilgarrah." She offered simply.
The dragon, if possible, seemed surprised.
"Your father is alive." He surmised.
"Yes."
"You are not . . ." he paused, "what I expected. So small for such a great destiny."
Merlin surpressed the urge to roll her eyes. Was everyone in Camelot this dramatic? Would she return to her father juggling flaming torches, doing cartwheels, and speaking in riddles?
"Sorry to disappoint."
"Not at all, young witch, in fact you are far more powerful than I would have assumed possible."
"My father trained me well."
"Trained you for what, I wonder."
"To protect Arthur Pendragon."
"So you know of your destiny."
"I do."
"And that you cannot escape it."
"I do."
"Then it appears I have nothing left to say to you. For now."
And with that he flew off into the darkness leaving Merlin alone. Her first encounter with a dragon. She had heard so much of dragons: their power, glory, nobility, great knowledge from her father and she couldn't help but be disappointed by Kilgarrah's ridiculous performance.
Only slightly bitter, she left the castle, deciding to purchase, or re-appropriate, supplies from the markets, hopeful that she could also catch up on any news she had missed in the past day.
She would need a day job, she realized, as stalking Arthur ,though the best way of protecting him, was probably not sustainable and this morning's hunt was lucky. She could not count on deer and rabbits to feed her forever.
She paused as she passed an establishment called 'The Rising Sun,' the sounds of brawling attracted her curiosity. What better place to keep up with news and potential threats to the crown than a tavern? Drunken men were always gossiping and bragging.
Just as she was about to open the door, it banged open. An older man wearing a bartender's apron was dragging a clearly drunk younger man into the street by the ear yelling after the drunkard that he was no longer welcome in 'his bar.'
She followed the man in and observed the aftermath of the bar fight. Men were nursing bloody noses, bandaging split knuckles, and picking up overturned chairs.
She went up to the bartender, catching his eye, "Looks like you've got a bit of a security problem."
"And what would you know about is missy?" he asked.
"I know plenty about fighting." She deadpanned, "and how to end it quickly. It looks like you could use my help."
The old man snorted, "Expensive armor and pretty swords do not a warrior make. Prove you can break up a fight and I'll hire you. Otherwise, buy a drink or get out."
He turned around cleaning up the mess then men had made, pulling a dagger out of the dartboard. Seeing her chance, Merlin pulled out her trusty dagger and threw. Bull's-eye, only a hair's width from the man's head. She smiled to herself as he turned around in shock.
"You could've killed me!" He accused.
"If that was my intention, you'd be dead by now. You won't find anyone better than me, sir, to keep the peace at your bar."
"Fine. You've got one night to prove it. Any more funny business and you're out." He handed her dagger back to her, "And dartboards are for darts! Not daggers! For Christ's sake, I'm too old for this job." he mumbled to himself.
Smiling brightly, she held out her hand and introduced herself, "I'm Merlin!"
"And I must be crazy, but the boys call me Tom. Welcome to the Rising Sun young lady."
Merlin smiled even wider. She liked Tom and the Rising Sun. Maybe her stay in Camelot wouldn't be so bad after all.
A/N: I felt that barmaid might suit our lady more than chambermaid. No doubt she'll enjoy knocking around any of the patrons who try to get too friendly with her.
Thank you to The Lord Writer, Guest, Princessdabomb, Darkspiral1, Procrastinationismycrime, and Akijudaichan for their reviews. For reviews, please feel free to ask questions, engage with me about the plot, specific moments, or where you anticipate the story heading! Feel free to PM me I love talking with you guys!