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Welcome to the 'Great Merlin Project' we are a group of writers over on DA who collectivly write a fanfiction with the original Merlin characters aswell as ones people have created. The OC's are all carefully moderated so none of them are outlandish and stark, they all fit into the story. The group over on Deviant Art where it all began is called the #Great-Merlin-Project

so come and check us out, its really easy to be part of the group and we will be adding more writers to our team in the summer.

Each chapter is written by a diffrent writer and it is looped so we all take it in turns, I really hope you guys like this as much as we enjoy writing it, and I hope to see some of you over at the group in the future

XD Dancinghamtoro

Chapter seven - Written by Dancinghamtoro

Rubbing her eyes tiredly, Hazel pinned a thin cloak around her shoulders and wandered down towards the courtyard, the glass in the tall windows glistened in the bright morning sun, and she couldn't stop part of her wanting to scuttle back into the warm kitchen with the sweet smell of fruit tarts wafting through the air, instead here she was walking towards a large group already assembled on the hard cobbles.

Spying Alexandra and Teagan chatting admirably with Arthurs closest knights, she felt a little better that other females were being dragged on this ludicrous adventure; that she somehow thought, though she couldn't explain it, was all Merlin's doing.

"Hey Sweetheart, you brought me any of them delicious pies?" Gwaine shouted from atop his chestnut mare with a rather annoyed Alex, clutching Hector the dog to her chest, behind him. Scowling at the knight who had continuously caused her so much trouble, she spun on the heel of her scuffed boot and accidentally slammed in to Sir Leon.

Flailing her arms as she slid into the mud, her skirt ruffled up and splattered what could have possibly been horse manure up her leg. Groaning, Hazel sat in the mud slightly dazed as to how she was suddenly having a party with the ground.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!" Leon apologised, a slight blush on his bearded face as he helped her up and lifted her on top of his midnight black stallion. Face red like a tomato, she watched as Teagan was primly helped up behind Percival, and gently pull a small leather bound book from the folds of her dusty blue riding tunic. Alexandra had jumped behind Elyan without much effort and was constantly checking that all the herbs that might be needed were packed in the soft leather saddle bags.

Due to previous experiences with horses, Leon sat behind Hazel so he could keep one of his arms wrapped around her corseted waist to stop her from falling onto the hard ground.

Arthur and Merlin rounded the corner of the stables squabbling like the pair of children they really were; Mordred followed the two with a sombre look on his handsome, yet frightening face. He twisted the rich green fabric of his travelling cloak around his pale fingers and leapt into the saddle silently, not bothering to look at anything other than a crystal clear ring placed at the base of his right index finger.

"Right men" Arthur began but was cut off with an offended cough that may or may not have come from Percival's horse was heard "Sorry, men and ladies, you have all been chosen to accompany me for different reasons, each of you has a talent and we wish to use it along the way and when we are actually at Mordred's village, let's get going I want to be at the river Veneficium by nightfall" He shot a blaring smile at the group and began to trot out of the courtyard and into the lower town.

"So Hazel, how long have you been working in the kitchens now?" Leon asked her conversationally as they left the towering walls of Camelot for the lush green of the forest.

"umm…about five years my lord" She answered back politely, knowing how true and just Leon was she didn't want to offend him, however he just chuckled and informed her she was to call him Leon, everyone else did.

By the time the sun was setting, they eventually made camp in a small clearing about thirty yards from the river bed. The small group dismounted and began to set the camp up.

Sliding off the horse with as much dignity as she could muster, Hazel was promptly grabbed by Merlin who informed her that the two of them would be cooking dinner for the party and that they maybe should start now.

Confused as to how the small fire Merlin had just made was suddenly hot enough to begin to cook the stew they both began to prepare, she let her mind wander till she imagined she was back in the castle's warm kitchen, dressed in her comfy old dress that draped at the shoulders and long hair pulled back from the front of her face.

"Merlin, what on earth am I even doing here?" She queried the slightly older boy as she chopped up mushrooms and turnips to bulk out the already meaty stew.

He paused in the stirring of the pot and looked at her over his shoulder.

"Because you're an amazing cook and the knights like you, not mention how a kind a friend you have been to me" Merlin told her with his brightest smile slapped on his pale face. Grinning back, Hazel cheerfully took over the cooking and instructed Merlin to tend to Arthur.

Once she had filled everyone's bowls, she scrapped the last out of the pot and sat down with a soft thud near a large oak, slightly disjointed from the actually group, she didn't feel like she belonged with all of them, she was just a kitchen maid, what had she ever done?

The bowl was suddenly snatched from her hand by Arthur and she was thrown over Gwaine's shoulder, with an indignant cry she was carried into the middle of the clearing and placed down next to Teagan who smirked at the knights' behaviour.

"If you are part of this group, you have to sit with us sugar" Gwaine winked at her and handed the wooden bowl back into her tanned hands, she scowled again, but this time good naturedly.

Sighing with contentment as she finished the hearty meal, Hazel grabbed the bottom of her skirt and pinned it above her knees so she could wash the dishes in the cool stream that ran in a small ditch along the forest floor.

Alex and Hector jumped up to follow her and three walked down to the edge of the river, the sky was a dark blue but enough light still rained down to see what they were doing without a torch.

Looking down at the pot and wooden bowls in her arms, she suddenly realised she had left about three of the bowls and a wooden spoon in the clearing, she quickly asked Alex to go and get them before crouching down to wash the remaining pots.

Alex skipped back to the clearing, leaving hector with Hazel.

"You're back rather quickly" Arthur commented as he bit into one of the crisp apples that had been packed for the journey. Alex chuckled briefly before answering.

"Ah, well your highness, if we hadn't left some of the dishes I could have stayed away from your face for longer" she grinned fierily at him before sweeping backwards with the crockery in her arms, however a shocked scream sent her spinning in the direction she had just come from.

Together with the knights, they ran down the sloping incline towards the river only to find Hazel standing against a tree with a large armoured creature with sharp teeth and bristling spines dead on the floor, the large pot embedded in its skull.

"Well, I don't think that thing stood a chance against you" Leon commented pretty uselessly before walking towards it with the other knights.

Arthur kicked the pot from its head and peered down at the creatures lifeless eyes.

"What on earth is this?"

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