Things will be a little different from now on. Canon chapters just have... well, a different feel to them. Hope you like it! And I would love love love to read your thoughts!
And also, Merlin is female now so she'd be a tad less proud and much more empathic.
DISCLAIMER: I WISH I OWN Merlin.
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CHAPTER IV: Camelot
CAMELOT
Merlin stood there staring at the huge castle everyone called Camelot. It was indeed a very pretty place to look at but her mother warned her that her future experiences wouldn't necessarily be the same.
She looked at her clothing and sighed. She was starting a new life on a totally different place and she was still cross-dressing. She couldn't really complain, since being a man really did have way more advantage than being a woman… but, she never lived as a girl before so she was…curious.
Curious about what, though?
How she would have lived? What she could have experienced…? Her mother taught her how to act like a woman in case she had to, but the situation never arose. She had always wondered how her life would have been if she wasn't raised as a boy…
Well, one of the things she'd appreciate was the omission of several excess layers of clothing. It was nowhere near appropriate for the weather, but she needed to wear them nevertheless to hide the changes puberty seemed to have cursed her with.
She shook her head of the thoughts. Her mother told her that living as a boy was for her own safety. She just thought that it would protect her from what Will called 'Inappropriate' stares of men, but she couldn't help but wonder if there was something more than that.
It was then that trumpets from within the walls sounded, pulling her out of her trance. She wondered what was going on...
Well, she was going to find out soon enough.
And so, she exhaled deeply and nervously walked to the gates.
...
Merlin blinked at the grandiose appearance of the place. She'd like to kick one of those walls with all her might and see if she'll make a scratch…
And she was about to when she heard a serious looking old man make a speech about the evil of using magic and how it was punishable by death. She froze at the sentence. She had used magic for as long as she could remember, and now she suddenly found out using it was a crime?
What was her mother thinking sending her to such a place?
BAM!
She gulped at the sight of a man- just forced to submission- getting readied to be beheaded. She shifted her gaze towards an old woman who looked in despair. She was probably the man's mother, she assumed. A lump of pain found its way onto her chest. She wondered how her mother would feel to see her getting killed. She purposely avoided looking at what was what was happening in the platform and just stared at the old woman.
SPLAT
…was all that she heard just before she saw the woman's eye widen in anguish. She felt like crying when the woman started to do so silently. But the quiet sob became a cry after the king announced for a celebration.
Everyone stared at her with a mix of fright and curiosity. She cursed the king… and swore to take his son's life.
The woman shifted her gaze at her for the instant she enchanted a spell of teleportation. Merlin looked at her with sympathy- sharing an odd moment of understanding. The old woman did not change her expression even when she uttered the final word in the spell.
And she was gone.
After that event in the square, she went to find a Gaius who was the court Physician. Her mother said to go to him, he was the only person they could truly trust in Camelot. And the first thing that happened when they met was for the old man to find out she was a criminal.
But to her surprise, the man didn't look scared or mad. He looked… bewildered. The type of magic she uses was elemental- instinctive- a like of which he had never seen before. He was in awe she could tell, but nevertheless warned her gravely of what could happen to her once anyone found out. He told her to keep a low profile and be careful.
She nodded, and he (as if nothing happened) he gave her a list of errands and deliveries. Gaius gave her precise instructions and she headed off immediately without question.
As soon as she was gone, the old man let out a deep breath and stared at the letter.
"So the time has come."
...
After doing the chores she walked back nonchalantly to Gaius's quarters. But on her way she saw a poor looking boy holding some sort of wooden target. An arrogant looking blonde and his cronies were grinning slyly and asked the boy to move around – for moving target practice.
Her eyes twitched at the bad treatment and decided to speak out.
"That's enough, my friend." She stated coolly. The blonde raised a brow.
"Do I know you?"
"No, you don't."
"Yet you called me 'friend'." He commented cynically.
"Ah, my mistake. I wouldn't have such an ass for a friend." She bluntly replied getting everyone who heard to gasp and suffer… as they needed to hide their smiles.
The man's eye twitched slightly but he regained his composure. She berated herself internally, where did that 'keeping your profile low'-mode she was in a moment ago? She knew was being rude but the guy seriously needed someone to tell him how he looked since the people surrounding him, for some reason, seemed to have no intention to.
"Excuse me?" He asked trying to hide the annoyance he was feeling. "What did you just call me?"
"An Ass. Geez, didn't know you were deaf as well." She shook her head casually. The man's frown deepened.
"You can go to jail for being so rude to me." He stated, she scoffed in an attempt mock him.
"You wish. Who are you? The King? I'm sure the kingdom will become even worse than it already is once you do." She said confidently but she was mentally slapping herself. She just said that the current king was incompetent… not that she didn't think so, but there was a limit to being blunt.
The boy smirked, now finding a good reason to get his revenge.
"I'm not the king alright." He smirked, making her flinch. What was he so proud about?
"I'm Arthur."
"Who?" She asked causing his eyes to twitch. He firmly held his shoulders in annoyance- making her cringe due to the pain.
"I'm Arthur." He repeated, this time gritting his teeth. "The king's son."
...
The moment they came to their senses they found themselves staring deeply into each other's eyes. They didn't know how long they've been in that position, but their bodies didn't seem to mind at all. They continued their breathing which seemed to have stopped for a moment and didn't move for a while.
They both knew immediately what they felt—or rather the feelings inside then that were suddenly woken up. But Merlin, now being ever so rational, decided to start a looking into their situation.
"Did you see what I saw as well…?" She asked, not sure if it was just some sort of made up dream her over-sized brain made up. How could those two people who obviously wanted to kill each other fall in love…?
Fall in love…?
He looked at the blonde in front of him and the wild stirrings of emotions and longings inside of her—all of which should have been alien to her, but they never were.
Well, she did think she was insane just a few days ago…
Maybe she still did.
The boy though... just stared at her for a while, likely thinking of something similar. She looked at him and he stared back with a renewed softness in his eyes and she felt herself heating up. Merlin was confused at everything that was happening but at least she knew now that this man, who so visibly cared for her in every way possible, was with her all the way.
Bad first impressions—in both lives—notwithstanding. .
She smiled at him, making his heart beat even faster.
"Bradley – or Arthur – " She called his name wanting him to answer her question. "Walk with me?"
He stared and stood up, and she did as well, but her knee buckled but he caught her in his arms in time. She held on to his arms because her legs were wobbly, the pain apparently taking toll on her non-athletic body. They would walk like that for a long time.
They were friends now anyway… and neither voiced out their suspicions that they must've been more than that.
"So… you were a boy…?" He asked her worriedly, if that was the case then that meant he was—
"I was cross-dressing." She said immediately, knowing what he was thinking about. He breathed out a sigh of relief. "You homophobic?"
"No." He said. "Just didn't think I'd be one." Then he paused, looking nowhere in particular. She turned her head up to see his well-chiselled face looking at the moon.
"… I wonder if you ever knew though…" She added making him wince. She cackled. "You said you weren't homophobic. Tsk—we're in the 21st century, you rude bastard."
"I'm not." He heaved a sigh, though internally he was smiling at the fact she wasn't avoiding him at all. "Anyway…, those were really memories weren't they?"
"Yeah. I think so too."
"Was it really possible?"
"Well it already happened didn't it?"
"Well, yes, but—" Then he stopped and turned his head to her, both eyebrows raised. "Do you have any idea about what's going on?"
"Not really." She said. "But I know weird things have been happening lately, and I know someone who may know something." His eyes brightened at this and she nodded, turning to a direction. "Let's go to my house."
"…"
"What?"
"Nothing." He said and began walking, but he was held back by her hand still on his arm. And she was staring at him like she could see through him.
"You're not thinking of something perverted are you?"
"WHAT? NO—"
"We're going to see my dad."
"Oh."
She almost asked what he expected but she thought she'd rather not push it. So instead, she told him of her father's name.
And the former King Arthur paled even more.
…
Bradley James was… scared to find out they were going to meet her father—though his acting experience definitely helped in hiding it from her.
It was several months ago…
Bradley James was his usual haughty self at that party, and he was proud of it. Every girls and money-diggers fawn over him, anyway. Besides, he liked feeling better than everyone else.
It was a celebration for the completion of his latest movie. It was sci-fi, and their director invited one of his best friends – Ben Mitchell, the most renowned scientist of his generation.
"What a nerd." he arrogantly voiced out, catching everyone's startled expressions… Except for one that was. Ben himself just stared at him indifferently and continued talking with the director as if nothing had happened.
.
Yeah, no big deal.
Right…?
What if he was mad and he was just too cool to show it…?
He cursed.
'What a nice impression to give to your girlfriend's father.' He thought, already declaring Merlin as his girlfriend, though right now they were obviously just friends. His daze was cut off by Merlin tightening her hold onto his hand, and he could tell though they were not willing to push the boundaries further—not until more memories come—they still liked each other's touch.
And neither had the energy to deny the need anymore.
"Bradley?" She asked, anxiety evident in her expression. He just gaped at her, not knowing what to say. "Hey." She asked again, but this time with a much firmer voice telling him to speak.
"I've met your father before…" He muttered while Merlin stared at him to continue.
"…and I don't think he likes me."
…
MITCHELL RESIDENCE
"Ah, Bradley James. What are you doing at my house…" He looked at their entwined hands charily that immediately separated upon his gaze. "…with my daughter?"
Merlin just sighed and pulled him past the threshold, and asked him to sit on a chair. He did and Bradley watched as her father sat right across him. The air was heavy in the room, and it turned heavier when Merlin sat beside him on the couch.
The man looked at the two teenagers sitting across him in his ante-room with an unfathomable expression and sighed. "May I know what your relationship is?"
Bradley opened his mouth to say, though no voice came out: because he really wasn't sure. "It's pretty ambiguous for now, dad." Merlin said. "We were hoping you could help us."
"How can I help you, exactly?" "By telling you to stay away from each other?"
"Dad."
And then she told him: of the ring and of the memories. She even offered to show it again (which made her hold his hand and he thought she'd actually bite it herself), but her father raised his hand to stop them. "No need. I know what this is about."
Then he paused, dire expression on his face. "But still—of all the people… why him?" He asked his daughter in despair getting the poor boy to wince.
"How should I know?" She retorted earning herself a surprised stare from Bradley. The old man just shook his head, trying to make himself accept what was happening.
"Oh well… I suppose he wasn't any less arrogant in his past life."
"Yeah."She agreed. Bradley's eyebrows arched.
"Hey! Don't talk as if I'm not here."
"But you have to admit, it is true… sending a poor girl in jail just because she told you the truth…"
"… I didn't know you were a girl!" He defended loudly. Merlin massaged her ears at the blasted noise he made.
"That's not the point."
"How far have you two recollected?" Her father intervened.
"Just the until the moment we met…"She answered. The man didn't say a word for a minute until he commented,
"Ah… A lot of things should happen after that."
"Could you tell us? And don't give me that 'you have to find out yourself' crap, dad."
"I won't. But I can't tell you anyway because I do not know. Your histories were never really written correctly."
"How come?" She asked, getting increasingly puzzled. She saw that her father was pondering whether to tell her. She sighed at this and stood up, to walk in front of him.
But he took her hand—stern, as if he was going to be with her even when he was the one dropping the bomb—and he let out a deep breath and the two cringed at the tension. "That's because, my love…"
"Almost no one survived to tell the tale."
.
Silence echoed across the room for torturous minutes. Neither of them understood—or rather, neither wanted to. How could that happen?
"What…?" Merlin managed to utter, as if he just said that revelation a few seconds prior.
"That's all I know about your past life, my child. Me and my clan's duty right this time was to find you… but it was a very unexpected twist of fate that you were born my daughter."
"Clan, dad?" She asked. She had never met any of her father's family members before.
The man only nodded, and gave her a sad smile. "We were once a small but powerful clan, forced into hiding because of persecution. Now we have grown a bit larger and have stealthily seeped through great a many facets of society, powerful in a different sense of the word."
"But one things has never changed: Our mission to protect you."
Merlin's face contorted to one of confusion and he chuckled, standing up so he can pat her head. "Knowing your interest in the Medieval times, you may have heard of us."
"Once upon a time, there was a name that accurately portrayed us:
"The Druids."
.
.
END OF CHAPTER IV
Coming soon:
CHAPTER V: Pride and Fall
You saved someone's life and you become his servant…?
REPLIES TO ANGELS
Princess Falling Star - Ah, they didn't recognize each other per se before kissing, they just felt the other is familiar to some odd extent. Hehe, and yeah I really like his actor so I decided to put him here. Thanks for the review!
xchanierulzx - Aw gosh... You, my friend, flatter me... Heheh. Thanks for the review~!
ambercute - I know! hehehe. And here's the start of the cannon. The next chapter would be mostly cannon... Thanks for the comment!
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Thanks for reading!
I would deeply appreciate it if you pause before going anywhere else, and tell me what you thought. ;D