A Marriage that Started a Legend

by IJustShowedUp

Follows canon but with my own arranged marriage spin on it. What happens when Hunith makes a mistake and is forced on the run with her infant son? What happens when Camelot knights find her twenty years later? What happens when Arthur learns he's betrothed to a peasant boy? Will Merlin be able to stand among royalty? Will these two different boys survive each other? Review!

11. Chapter 11

"What do you mean you don't know where he is?" Morris hissed. He had his hands on his hips and his face was flushing red in his anger. He had been arguing with this stupid guard for almost an hour because he refused to allow him into the bedroom Arthur's fiancé was staying in.

"I am not his personal guard." Gregory hissed back, glaring down at the smaller boy. The way Morris had come up the stairs as if he had owned the place had rubbed him the wrong way. Then Morris had zoomed past him, making a beeline straight for the bedroom, forcing Gregory to intervene. "I am guarding the royal suites from people who shouldn't be in them." He gave an obvious look to Morris. The only reason he hadn't tossed the servant out of the royal hallway on his arse yet was because he was the prince's personal servant. He did have a reason to be in this hallway. But he had absolutely no reason to try entering another one of the bedroom's.

"I told you!" Morris snarled, face going a deeper red. "The prince asked me to discuss a private matter with him. I need to see him." This fucking idiot for a guard, why did the king hire such incompetent moron's to guard his home?

The guard bent over some so that he could look Morris in the eye. "And as I told you," he hissed, eyes flashing. "He is not in his room. He left over an hour ago with the Court Physician. Maybe you should try asking him." He planted himself firmly in the doorway to Merlin's room, refusing to budge even for the pushy manservant, especially for the pushy manservant.

Morris narrowed his eyes, trying to see past the man. He was almost trying to will the door behind the guard to swing open with his eyes alone. But of course it didn't. He half thought that maybe the boy was trying to hide in there, away from everyone. Although why anyone would try to hide was a mystery to him. If Morris was going to marry the prince, he would be out there forcing his new status onto the common people. Not hiding away in his suite.

"But I'm up here now." Morris insisted, throwing his hands down. "I should wait in his room until he returns." And then maybe he could go through his stuff. Find out exactly who this boy was and what he was all about.

Gregory glared down at the boy. "No." He said bluntly, refusing to budge an inch.

Morris felt his rage spike, what little composer he had snapping. "You stupid...I need to be let in there you oaf!" He snarled. "I have more important things to do than what you're doing, just standing around in an empty hallway!"

Morris seemed to realize to late that this was the exact wrong thing to say. Gregory seemed to grow before his eyes, his shoulders aligning in a perfectly straight line. His eyes gave a dangerous flash, reminding Morris for the first time that this was a trained soldier and he was a manservant with not a single fighting ability.

"Listen here," Gregory hissed, stabbing Morris in the chest with a thick finger. "Do not let your position go to your head. You are still a servant, nothing more."

"I-" Morris blustered, trying to sound tougher than he actually was.

"No." Gregory said in a short tone, making Morris stop. "I do not answer to you. You are a servant boy whose only job is to run after our prince. Remember. Your. Place. Boy." Each word was punctuated by a sharp poke to Morris' collarbone. It would probably bruise, not because of the force the knight used, but because of just how much bigger he was than Morris.

Morris swallowed hard, teeth clenched so hard that he almost felt them cracking. What he would give to be able to tell this knight off. Right now though, he was uncomfortably aware of their difference in sizes and status.

"This isn't over." Morris said instead, clutching his fists so hard at his sides that his knuckles were turning white. "I'll be back."

Gregory scoffed, "And the answer will be the same. You are not getting in this room without the explicit permission of this room's owner."

Morris scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. He had a dangerous glint in his eye. "Believe me, I will get it." Even if he had to force the permission out of the boy's throat to do it. He would get into that room one way or the other. Who knows what he could be hiding in there that would force the king to annul the marriage. Everybody had something dark hidden, it just took someone like him to dig deep enough to find it.

With that in mind, Morris turned his back on the guard and stormed off down the hall. Since he couldn't get into that room, not with the oaf protecting it, he would just have to go to Gaius. See what he knew about this mystery boy.

But that brought along the question, why was Gaius seen talking with Arthur's fiancé? Gaius was the court physician, did the boy have some kind of illness he had to see to?

Morris picked up his speed just a little, practically jumping down the stairs in his eagerness. He wondered if the boy did have some kind of condition. Maybe it was terminal and that was why the king had agreed to the union. Because the boy wouldn't live long enough to cause any problems for Camelot.

The entire walk to Gaius' chambers, Morris was thinking about different scenarios. What kind of condition could the boy have that Gaius could be treating? Was that actually why Gaius was with him or was it something else? But what other reason could there be for Gaius to bother himself with something like this?

It was all making his head spin.

When Morris reached Gaius' chambers, the first thing he did was throw the doors open. And then he walked in like he owned the place. "Gaius!" He called, looking in disgust at his surroundings. He'd always hated coming down here because of how Gaius kept the place. It was a horrific cluster of useless things. At least useless in Morris' eyes.

Gaius looked up from where he was sitting at one of his tables, giving Morris a blank look. "What is it this time, Morris?" He asked bluntly. It wasn't the first time Morris had stormed into his chambers. Usually to request something for a headache, apparently the prince gave him a lot of those. But Gaius had cut him off at some point simply because of how much he'd been consuming. That particular potion did have a slight addictive quality to it so it had been best to cut him off before he'd gotten to attached.

Morris scowled at the nonchalant tone that Gaius used. He looked around the room but couldn't see anybody else. Fuck, had that stupid guard lied to him? Gaius probably didn't even know Arthur's fiancé, although why he would be hanging around down here in the first place was a mystery to Morris. Arthur's fiancé would be nothing less than a noble, even if he was a man, and why would a noble want to be anywhere near a room that was so horrific.

Gaius ignored Morris to cast a look towards Merlin's room. He wondered if Morris' loud entrance had woken the boy or if he'd slept straight through it.

Seeing that there was no one else here, Morris put his hands on his hips and marched up to Gaius. "Have you been around Arthur's fiancé?"

Gaius finally gave Morris his attention, narrowing his eyes at the sudden question. "I suppose I have." He said slowly, closing the book in front of him. "Why do you want to know?"

Morris' eyes lit up, so he had been with him! Maybe that dumb guard had been useful for something after all. "I need to find him. The Prince," he straightened his spine looking far to pompous for a servant. "Has requested that I talk to him about a private matter."

Gaius looked not amused in the least by this. "Well you'll just have to come at another time. He's resting." He glanced back upstairs again but their was no noise coming from the room. How Merlin could sleep straight through the annoying voice that Morris had would forever be a mystery.

"Resting?" Morris demanded, feeling his eyes flash. Of course he was resting. Nobles! They have nothing to do all day but whatever took their fancy! Why else would a noble be sleeping in the middle of the day? And this was who Arthur's husband was going to be? Somebody who had nothing to do but sleep all day?

Upstairs in his room, Merlin was fast asleep, taking a little nap after the rough morning he'd had. What, with being in the stocks and then his fight with Arthur, a nap was just the thing he needed. But the peaceful nap he was hoping to get wasn't what he was going to get.

His eyes creased in his sleep and he tossed again to a new position. But still, his face scrunched together as he heard it even in his dreams.

"Merlin," an eerie voice called out to him.

Merlin grumbled to himself, burying his face in his pillow. He tried to turn himself again, tried to escape the sound of someone calling for him. His legs were twisted in the blanket, caught and wrapped tightly around him. He grunted, trying to kick himself free but all that did was make it go tighter around his calf's.

"Merlin," he heard again. Merlin's brows furrowed together and he twisted around, flopping over onto his back.

At the exact moment that the pain hit him, he heard it again. "Merlin!" Much louder and forceful. It practically shouted at him, not in his ear but in his head. As if this voice was coming from inside of his head instead of somebody just calling for him.

Merlin jolted up in his bed, hissing in pain. The scrapes on his back was giving off a burning sensation when he'd rubbed them against the harsh sheets he was on.

"Merlin." He heard again.

That voice again. The same voice he's heard when he was sleeping earlier, it was back.

Merlin started kicking at the blankets, getting himself untangled. He stood half way on the bed, the blanket still twisted around one of his ankles. He yelped when he fell straight off the bed, falling on his elbows on the floor.

Downstairs, both Gaius and Morris looked up when the ceiling above them suddenly had dust rain down. "What on earth is that boy doing up there?" Gaius muttered, half to himself.

"So he's up there, is he?" Morris demanded. "Well I will just have to talk to him. He should know that it's unbecoming to take a nap in the middle of the day." Morris would be more than happy to tell the boy that spending his days napping wouldn't be happening anymore. Not when there were thousands of things to do in the castle that even a noble lady would be expected to attend to.

Like running a household. Making sure things are running smoothly by having talks with the stewards or head of the cleaning staff or even Clara, the head cook of the kitchen. Things like have meetings with the head of their treasury to make sure the kingdom's gold was flourishing and what could be done if it's not. Or even talking with the head of security, making sure that there would no disruptions or problems that needed her attention.

Things that a noble lady would handle after getting married and moving into her husband's home. Things that Morris would gladly watch a man do.

Morris started storming to the stairs. He had barely even known that Gaius had an upstairs but now that he knew this fiancé was up there, he wasn't going to let anything stop him from finding out who had taken his crown.

"Morris." Gaius called one more time, not even attempting to go after the boy. "You should know better than to come marching into someone else's home and going through it."

Morris put one foot on the steps, turning to glare at Gaius. "By order of the prince, I have been ordered to discuss things with him." He said, heading up the stairs. It probably could have waited until the boy was up but Morris was impatient, ready to ruin what little peace the boy had found in sleeping.

In his room, Merlin had just tugged his shirt over his head, pulling it down to cover himself when his door suddenly flew open. He flinched back because of the suddenness, his door hitting the wall behind him.

Merlin and Morris stared at each other blankly for several seconds, blinking at each other dumbly.

'Why is he here?' Merlin thought, baffled.

'The hell...' Morris thought. He narrowed his eyes, "You!" He exclaimed, recognizing the new servant boy instantly. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Merlin felt his hackles rise and scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "Excuse me? A better question would be why are you here?"

Morris and Merlin were practically right in front of each other now. They glared into each other's eyes. Both boys had rubbed the other the wrong way by their earlier confrontation and now right here.

"I-" Morris said pompously, raising a finger to point at his chest. "Was told that the prince's fiancé was residing in here."

Merlin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, well you found him." He said bluntly. As much as it pained him to say it out loud, that was who he was around here.

That brought Morris up short and he blinked several times, as if he couldn't understand what Merlin had just said. Then he started to grin, before he let out a bark of laughter. Merlin watched him confused, not understanding what was so funny.

"You really shouldn't do that." Morris finally said, smirk gracing his lips. "You might end up in the stocks or worst if somebody else heard that you were trying to impersonate royalty."

"But I'm not impersonating royalty." Merlin said slowly.

Morris scoffed, "You just said you were the prince's fiancé when clearly," he stopped to run his eyes over Merlin's form, just slow enough to bring attention to it. "You're not."

Merlin brought his hands to his hips, "What do you mean I'm not?" That was what everybody had been telling him since he'd gotten here. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel insulted or not with the way Morris was looking at him.

"Well," Morris said slowly, as if Merlin should already know. "You are a peasant. As if the prince would lower himself to that standard when he can aim so much higher."

"Well I don't know what to tell you." Merlin said with growing annoyance. "I've," he pointed at himself in the chest. "Been here for several days now because I'm supposed to marry Arthur," his voice cracked just the slightest bit when he said the last word. "Tonight."

Morris narrowed his eyes, clenching his fists at his sides. "Stop lying." He snapped. "I should go fetch the guards and have them bring you to the stocks for such insolence."

Merlin snorted, "To late there. Or did you forget when we met earlier, I had already gotten out of the stocks."

"Where you belong!" Morris exclaimed, growing increasingly frustrated the longer this conversation went on. "Hell, if I had it my way, I would put you back in there for everything you've done since I've walked in here!"

"What I've done?" Merlin spluttered dumbstruck, bringing a hand to poke at his chest. "You were the one that barged in my room and started demanding things. It's not my fault you don't believe anything I've said!"

"Because you are obviously lying!" Morris snapped. "You can't go around claiming to be the prince's fiancé! That right there ought to be enough to put you in the stocks. And that's only the tip of the iceberg!"

"And what else have I done that offended you so much?" Merlin demanded, eyes narrowing.

"Well for one, lying about being the prince's fiancé!"

Merlin rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, we already know that one. Anything else that caused you offense?"

"For being up here in the first place!" Morris snapped. "I heard that the prince's fiancé was up here, not a peasant boy!"

"Not my fault you don't believe me." Merlin said bluntly. He was starting to feel as if they were going around in circles at this point.

"And third, for not addressing Arthur properly!" Morris finished off as if this was the worst offense out of the three.

Merlin raised a confused eyebrow, "Excuse me?" He demanded.

"You called him Arthur." Morris said simply. "As a peasant, you should only address him as Prince Arthur, or something like sire or your highness."

Merlin snorted, "Yeah, I'm not marrying a guy and calling him by a title." Who went around calling their husband anything other then their name?

"Stop saying that!" Morris snapped. "The prince would not marry somebody as awful as you!" He stepped forward almost threateningly. "I thought I told you earlier to not get in my way." He hissed. "That includes causing me trouble. Aren't you a new servant? I could get you fired," he stopped to snap his fingers. "Just like that."

Merlin was done with this. Ignoring Morris, Merlin walked straight passed him. Morris felt his face flush in his anger, "Are you ignoring me?" He demanded, voice going up higher in pitch.

Merlin just pulled open his door and called down the stairs, "Uncle Gaius! Am I marrying Arthur tonight!" He had done said it so many times over the last few days that it was almost surprising when his voice didn't crack or he didn't stumble over the word.

Gaius was downstairs, sitting back at one of his benches. "Yes!" He called back, not looking up as he flipped to another page in his book. The walls were thin and although he couldn't make out what they were saying, he did hear the raised voices.

That was all Merlin needed. He closed the door shut and then turned to look at Morris. He crossed his arms over his chest giving him a look that said 'see, told you so.'

Morris stared blankly, trying to wrap his head around this. No, this couldn't be true. It was one thing when he'd thought that Merlin was a nobleman that was for whatever reason, marrying the prince. But now to know that it was another peasant, another peasant had stolen his crown! What made Merlin so special that Uther had signed his son over to him when he could have given him to someone so much better, like himself.

"You." Morris finally said, voice sounding off even to his own ears.

"Me." Merlin said, annoyed with himself. Was he seriously arguing over if he was marrying Arthur tonight? He didn't care if Morris believed him or not but still, was it really so hard to believe that it was him?

Morris swallowed hard, looking Merlin over again. This? This was the one that Arthur was going to marry? It was almost laughable at how ridiculous it all was. Morris almost wanted to wake up right now, convinced for a moment that this was all just some really fucked up dream.

"Now mind telling me why you are here?" Merlin asked. This was not something he had been expecting to wake up from. He could have gone his whole life without having Morris barge in on him and had been perfectly happy.

"Wait," Morris suddenly said, completely ignoring Merlin's question. As if he was above answering to others. "Did you just say 'Uncle Gaius?'" That was what he said, Morris couldn't have misheard that.

"Yeah," Merlin said slowly, stretching the word out. "Gaius is my uncle, it's why I'm down here."

"Wait." Morris started to grin, almost with a sick amusement. "You're going to marry the prince and they stuck you in here? I thought you were upstairs this whole time I've been looking for you and they stuck you in here?" He looked around the small room, laughing with a cruel undertone. Maybe it wasn't so bad that it wasn't him who was marrying Arthur. Not if they were sticking him in such a small room. He definitely would have demanded a bigger room.

Merlin straightened up, offended. What was so wrong with his room? He liked it down here, much more than the one he had upstairs. That room had been almost cold, different, from anything he'd ever been in before. He hadn't felt safe. Not like he did down here.

"If you must know," Merlin hissed, clenching his fists at his side. "I do have a room upstairs. I just prefer that I stay with my uncle for right now."

Morris snorted, "You don't have to lie to me. What? Did you do something and they kicked you out the royal bedrooms?" He asked, sounding almost eager, as if he was really wanting Merlin to say that was true.

Merlin clenched his jaw. "No, I didn't do anything." He said bluntly. Was it really so hard to believe that somebody would prefer it down here compared to the one he'd been given upstairs.

Morris thought for a moment, a raised eyebrow on his face as his eyes scanned over Merlin from head to toe. To think he had been worried over Merlin. Merlin who was taking his crown. Please, he was nothing more than some dumbass country boy. It probably wouldn't even be to hard to get rid of him. Hell, maybe all Morris had to do was give him this month's paycheck and the boy would leave, not even realizing that the crown he was marrying into had way more gold than Morris did.

"Let me guess," Morris said slowly, smirking. "Gaius sold you to the crown, was that it?"

Merlin spluttered confused. "What?" He finally demanded. "Uncle Gaius didn't sell me!" His mother practically had, only she hadn't gotten any gold for her troubles. So did that mean she had literally just given him away? He didn't want to think about that.

"Well it makes perfect sense." Morris kept going. Merlin just stared at him baffled. "Gaius is part of the court. He probably wanted a higher standing and what's higher than having someone in the royal family. So he sold you into marriage to the prince."

Merlin scowled. Uncle Gaius wasn't so cruel as to sell his family into a forced marriage just to get something as dumb as a higher standing in society. Especially when he was already so high up, being known far and wide as he was as the man to go to when one needed a physician.

Morris kept going, "Although I'm still surprised that Uther went for it. I'm surprised that Arthur hadn't done called the wedding off at this point. Does he know that it's you he's getting." Merlin didn't know how to answer that. He didn't know how much Arthur actually knew about him. "Hell, Arthur doesn't even like boys!"

That brought Merlin up short. "He-he doesn't?" He asked weakly. Arthur didn't like boys? Like at all? But...their marriage really wasn't going to work...Merlin shifted his eyes to the floor underneath him. Merlin may not know much about marriage or relationships or anything like that, but he did know that there should be at least something there.

Something that was impossible to have if one person didn't even like the other's gender. But it wasn't as if Merlin could do anything to fix that. He was just...himself, and that was it.

"Of course not!" Morris kept on going, barely paying any attention to Merlin's downtrodden expression. "Trust me, I would know." If Arthur had been into guys, Morris may had already tried something years ago. As horrible as Arthur was, he was fun to look at. Morris wouldn't mind so much tapping that.

Merlin looked away. What did he mean by 'he would know?' It irritated him that he didn't know. "Why are you here?" He hissed, his annoyance getting the best of him.

"Well," Morris finally got to the point. "The prince sent me here to...talk...to you," he trailed off as he remembered why exactly he was here. The prince had instructed Morris to prepare Merlin for...tonight. He felt a spike of both annoyance and amusement. Morris let his eyes roam over Merlin. No wonder he didn't know anything. Morris doubted anybody would be interested in tapping whatever Merlin had.

Merlin didn't seem to notice though. "Arthur did?" He asked, feeling a mix of hope and confusion. Had Arthur figured out who he was? Had he given Morris some kind of message to give him. Although why he didn't just drop by was a mystery to Merlin.

Arthur was a jerk but who knows, maybe that could change. Couldn't it? He had sent Morris to him for something so maybe that was a start, depending on what he had to say. Or maybe Arthur was just a jerk and always would be because it was just his personality.

Merlin didn't know. Merlin didn't know because he didn't really know much about Arthur. Other then their two encounters which had led to fights both times, it didn't look like a very promising future.

"Prince Arthur!" Morris snapped, glaring at Merlin. Tonight, Merlin would be the one in Arthur's bed. The one that was going to stand next to him during important functions, having people bow and doing things that only nobles got to do. Things he should be doing. "Show him some respect!"

Merlin was startled by the sudden loud voice. "Why does it matter?" He asked bluntly, frowning. Why did everybody seem to care so much if he called Arthur prince or not? It was just a title, a title someone shouldn't have to call their husband.

Morris scowled, planting his hands on his hips. "Because he is a prince." He said slowly, as if he thought Merlin was dim. "He deserves respect because it's his birthright. He is a prince now and someday, he will be our king. The least you, as a peasant in his kingdom, can do is give him the proper respect."

Merlin blinked for several minutes. "Even if he treats you like crap?" He asked. After all, the first time he'd seen Morris was when Arthur was throwing daggers at him. How could anybody treat someone with respect after that?

He felt a pang in his chest at the reminder. That's right. His husband, the arse. Maybe there was no hope for a happy life if Arthur kept acting like that. Even if there was no epic love story, Merlin would have been content with just having a new friend.

But he couldn't even have that, could he?

Morris felt his eyes flare at the comment. Who did this brat think he was? He couldn't just show up and make remarks about things he obviously didn't understand. There was a process to Morris' methods! If Morris had to put up with a little spoiled rich boy attitude from Arthur to get his crown in the end, he would gladly do it.

"You need to not go around acting like a total sad sack." Morris hissed, glaring daggers at the sullen expression that Merlin had on his face. "What do you possibly have to be upset about? You're marrying a prince! Do you know how many people would kill to be where you are right now?"

"Including you?" Merlin asked, the words coming out of his mouth before he even realized what he was saying.

Morris felt his eyes flashing, "Don't you dare,"He hissed through clenched teeth. "Presume to know anything about me." As much as Morris would be happy to get rid of Merlin, he wasn't dumb enough to try something the day of the wedding. Morris may not have much but he did have one thing, an endless amount of patience. He would stay in the background and wait until the right moment to strike. He was confident that he would get everything he wanted by the end of things.

He rammed his shoulder into Merlin's as he headed to the door. Merlin grabbed his shoulder, rubbing it through the small bit of pain. "Wait!" He called. Morris stopped at the door, hand hovering above the handle.

Merlin didn't know what he was going to say. He didn't know if he should apologize or what. Maybe what he'd said was crossing a line he didn't know was there...maybe Morris actually liked the prince and that was why he was so defensive.

Merlin shifted his gaze to the floor between them. Was that it? Did Morris like Arthur? It was the only thing he could think of that would make someone so pissed that somebody else was marrying. It must be hard, he thought almost guilty, watching someone you actually want to be with marry somebody else.

Merlin almost felt bad for him.

Why couldn't Morris' mom had made the deal that had Merlin marrying Arthur in the first place. Then Merlin would still be in Ealdor and Morris could have Arthur all he wanted.

"What?" Morris hissed, glaring over his shoulder at Merlin.

Merlin had almost forgotten that he was still there. His tongue felt thick in his mouth when he realized he didn't know what to say. Should be apologize? "Uh...what was it that Arthur wanted?" These words came out instead, in a surprisingly weak tone.

What do you say to someone who probably likes your fiancé?

Morris felt his eyes flashing. He had been going for sympathy, hoping that Merlin would say something that Morris could use against him. Morris had found that sometimes, if people sympathize with you, they open up and mention something about themselves that they otherwise wouldn't have.

But no, he couldn't even do that right. All he'd given Morris was a headache.

Morris didn't even feel the least bit bad when he said, "When you go to Arthur's bedchambers tonight, all you have to do is lay back and take it." Morris hissed. "Take whatever he gives you because it'll probably be the last time he will."

He gave another disgusted once over at Merlin's body. He couldn't begin to imagine Arthur doing it once yet along actually wanting to do it again.

Then Morris was gone, storming down the stairs. He walked straight passed Gaius sitting at his table without acknowledging him, which was just plain rude since Morris was in his home. Then he was gone, leaving the chambers completely.

Merlin, up in his room, stared at his open doorway confused. Lay back and take what Arthur gives him? What the hell was that supposed to mean? Did he want to know? It sounded ominous...frightening. What exactly were they going to be doing in Arthur's bed chambers that he should just 'lay back and take it?' Arthur had another thing coming if he thought Merlin was just gonna let him do whatever it was. Merlin wondered if whatever it was would make him try to punch Arthur again. But then again, Merlin wanted to do that every time he saw him.

Morris's whole visit had been confusing actually. Did Morris like Arthur or was Merlin just thinking to much into it. What did 'lay back and take it' mean? Take what? And why was he laying back and letting Arthur do whatever it was.

And Morris had been laughing at him and thinking he'd been lying about marrying Arthur, who would actually lie about that? Especially when it would be so easy to find out it was a lie just by attending his wedding tonight.

His wedding, those words rung through his mind. He cast a glance towards his windows. It looked to be mid-afternoon now. Just a few more hours and he'd be tied down to Arthur...forever.

He swallowed hard.

There was one thing about Morris' visit that Merlin remembered clearly. Morris telling him to stop being a 'sad sack'. Merlin didn't like it, didn't like who he'd been since he'd arrived. He didn't like being sad or moody, it wasn't usually like him.

Merlin had a long list of problems with his life. Like being a 'bastard child', as he'd heard adults whispering to each other when he'd been a child, since his mother was unwed. Like hiding his magic lest Cenrer find out of a young and untrained sorcerer living in his kingdom. And now having to hide or face his death. Like now, his marriage to Arthur when he was in no way ready for marriage, yet along to someone who made him want to punch him every time they've met.

But still, he didn't want to waste his life being sad all the time. He felt something in his heart clench, he wasn't going to waste his life being sad. He refused, even if he had to fake being happy until he actually was.

"Merlin," Gaius knocked on the wall next to his open door. "Is everything alright? What did Morris want?"

Merlin looked up when Gaius entered. "Uh, nothing." He said quickly. Gaius gave him a look, it was obvious that Merlin was lying. But Merlin didn't even know where to begin. The whole conversation had been strange straight from the beginning and he was still trying to wrap his mind around what happened even after he'd left.

"Uh, I have to go." Merlin said, snatching up his jacket from the foot of his bed. Before Gaius could ask him anymore questions about Morris, Merlin hurried passed him and down the stairs, tugging his jacket on as he went.

"Merlin? Where are you going?" Gaius called down after him.

"I'll be back soon." Merlin answered instead, already halfway to the door.

"Well don't be to long. You're getting married soon." Gaius called after him from the top of his stairs.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Merlin called over his shoulder as he hurried out the front door. Gaius shook his head, grumbling under his breath at Merlin's sarcastic response.

But Merlin didn't hear any of it. He was already gone. He had to track down that damn voice he kept hearing.

Meanwhile, King Uther dismissed his servants. They had just finished setting up in elaborate brunch for him and the young lady that was his guest. The servant girls quickly curtsied before exiting the room.

"My lady," Uther said charmingly, pulling his chair out for Lady Helena. The two were alone now. There were guards outside the door but that was it.

Helena smiled, looking charmed for sure. "Thank you, kind sir." She said teasingly, letting him take her hand and guide her into her chair. Helena's grin widened as Uther pushed her chair under the table before he took the seat across from her.

'Lady Helena' looked down at the meal in front of her and silently felt herself seething. She hid her clenched fists into the folds of her skirts under the table, barely being able to stop herself from reaching across the table and clawing out the king's eyes.

Here he was with all of this food, there was so many extravagant plates that neither she nor the king would have been able to eat it all. He sat there with all of this food at his disposal while she and her son worked to the bone to preserve what little they had. They worked just to get scraps on the little table they had. And yet the king didn't even look impressed or particularly interested in the meal before him.

'Helena' had never ate such foods in her life. She'd never had the money to even afford a single serving of what the king was offering her.

She didn't eat a single bite even as the king helped himself. Her plate would remain as bare as it was when she'd arrived. As if she would lower herself to gorging on what the king offered her. The king who killed her son.

That thought stayed with her even as she smiled demurely at the king. Even as the king eyed her with more interest than one would usually give an acquaintance.

Uther ate on some fruit, never noticing that Helena had yet to try a single piece of the many delicacies before her. "Will you sing for me?" Uther asked, reaching across the table to try and take her hand. "My own, private concert before tonight?" He purred.

Helena casually pulled her hand away at the last minute. She feigned just reaching for her goblet that had a rich purple wine swishing inside. "I couldn't possibly." She said with a teasing grin, hiding her displeasure behind the lip of her goblet as she drunk deeply. As if she would let him touch her after what he'd done to her family.

Her wine was unlike anything she'd ever tasted. Peasants couldn't afford such luxuries as this. But she could barely taste it. It almost tasted like ash on her tongue, to intensely focused on trying to hide her emotions behind her teasing facade to taste it. And when she finally set her goblet aside, there was just a hint of her red lipstick coating the lip of the goblet.

Helena rubbed her lips together as to make sure that her lipstick was evening out. "You will just have to wait till tonight, sire." She continued, finally shifting her gaze over to him. "And be surprised with the rest of your," she purred the last word out. "Subjects."

"You will not deny me." Uther said, looking a lot more invested in their conversation now. It wasn't often that a king was told no. The last woman that had ever denied him anything had been his wife. She had been the only woman brave enough to tell him no and then tell him exactly why.

It was almost a to painful reminder as it had been everyday since her death. He was reminded everyday simply by looking at his son. Arthur had inherited her blonde hair and blue eyes. It was just to bad he seemed to have inherited Uther's personality instead of his mother's gentle spirit.

Helena just smiled in false amusement, "I am saving myself for my performance tonight." She glanced down at her still empty plate before looking up at the king through her eyelashes. "Will everyone be there?" Arthur, she thought. Arthur would be there. It was his wedding after all and 'Helena' would make sure to make the prince's fiancé a widow before the night was over. It was a better fate than being tied to the Pendragon family.

"Who would dare to miss it?" Uther asked confidently. This was his son's wedding, the biggest event in the kingdom in twenty years. Not a single fool would dare to miss something as huge as what was coming up. All of Camelot nobility would be here to watch.

Helena nodded, smiling happily. "Yes, your son will be married by nightfall. Tell me, is he pleased?" She wanted to know, needed to know, if the prince was happy. Then she could rest easy, knowing that she had destroyed such happiness just like his father had destroyed hers.

"Oh," Uther started, stalling for time as he took a large bite out of the many strawberries on his plate. "Yes," he ultimately said. "He is very pleased. Can't possibly wait to be united with his fiancé in front of all the kingdom."

Uther cast a glance up towards the ceiling, wondering if his son had made it home yet or if he was still doing whatever it was he did with his days. The king and his son's relationship had been very strained this past week, almost to the point of snapping completely.

And Uther couldn't even blame his son for avoiding him. Uther couldn't even begin to imagine how young and stupid he had been, signing away his son's marriage prospect before he'd even been born.

His eyes narrowed, thinking of the boy his son would be tied to. He wondered if Merlin was in his room now, enjoying the finer things in life that as a peasant, he obviously wouldn't have been able to.

Merlin would be a stain on their family and his son was the one that would pay the price for Uther being a naive fool.

"That's wonderful." Helena said easily enough. "To be young and in love. It's a wonderful thing." She could just vaguely remember that feeling. It had been many years since her husband had died but still, she remembered what it was like. Even though it had faded and twisted over the years, she wouldn't forget the man that had given them her son.

Uther cleared his throat. "Yes. It is definitely a wonderful feeling. You should see Arthur and his fiancé when they are together. Nothing short of beautiful." He lied easily, trying to give off the impression of a match made in heaven. It wouldn't do if word got out that Arthur was unhappy with his match. An unhappy prince who would be their king someday made for an uneasy kingdom.

Peasants and their ridiculous notions about true love. The way they romanticized what being a noble was all about. It caused him more of a headache than anything else.

"That's great news." Helena said simply. "I almost feared that this had been an arrangement of some kind. You know, nobles arranging their kids to be married."

Uther cleared his throat again, "Yes, completely ridiculous." He said weakly, as if he hadn't done exactly that.

Helena nodded, "It seems a shame, not to have met your son before the wedding. I usually meet the guests of honor before the big event." She said casually. If only Arthur had been here. She probably could have done away with him and been on her merry way before anyone realized what had happened.

But no, the king had to make this more difficult than she thought it would be. It was looking as if she would have to wait until the party to do the deed. It would be very public but as long as the prince was dead before the night was over, she could live her final moments happy, knowing that she had avenged her son.

She probably wouldn't live pass tonight, not with the security a marriage of this magnitude would probably have, but she was okay with that. She had already accepted that possibility. As long as her revenge was complete, that was all that mattered.

"That's Arthur." Uther said wearily, feeling the wrinkles forming on his forehead. He had always tried to do what was best for his son. He had truly thought that this marriage would be what was best, back when he was young and stupid. But now he was older, now he realized what a mistake he'd made in his youth. "He and his...fiancé...are having a final day of, getting their fun out before the wedding." He lied easily. Wasn't that what people did? People who weren't tied down by obligation and responsibility. They went out with friends and enjoyed their last day of freedom before they married.

Helena nodded in false understanding, her hand going up to play with the thick golden necklace that she'd stolen from the real Helena, along with all of her other possessions. "Poor child." She said quietly to herself.

She almost felt sorry for the lad. Having Uther as a father seemed to be his only crime although with the way she'd heard of his behavior, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before he became just like his father. And now he would have to die because of his father's sins.

"Hmmm?" Uther asked. Helena had spoken to softly for him to understand her.

Helena's head jolted up, having not meant to speak out loud. "P-poor child." She said more strongly. She had to get a hold of herself or her plan would fail before she even got close to the prince. "I just mean, he is getting married! And he's in love! It's just a shame that his mother couldn't be hear to witness her own son's wedding."

"Yes." Uther agreed heavily. "My wife would have loved this." Ygraine had always saw the best in people. She had saw exactly what Uther had seen in Balinor and Hunith, good people despite their status. She would have enjoyed more than anything to plan her son's wedding. She had always loved a good party and what would have been better than to celebrate her son's happiness.

It was only a shame that she hadn't lived long enough to come to the same realization that Uther had about Balinor's 'kind', he thought the last word with disgust.

"She would have enjoyed seeing her son find some happiness." He said quietly, lost in his thoughts. His poor son who would never be able to find true happiness, not like Uther and Ygraine had grown to love each other. Not while he was married to such an uncouth boy.

Uther had never been able to understand his son. But with everything that was happening, he truly feared what little relationship he did have with his son was just barely hanging on by tethers.

He'd often wondered what life would had been like if it was him who had died instead of his beloved queen. She would have been so much better at this parenting thing.

Helena nodded, an almost sad look in her eye. "A bond, the kind only a mother and her son could have, it's so hard to replace." She said quietly, thinking of her own son. His first steps and words, the first time they'd realized that he had inherited just a touch of her own magic. Those were memories that could never be replaced or captured by another. They resided now, only in her memories.

"It hasn't been easy." Uther admitted. Maybe he had drunken a touch to much wine because his tongue was the slightest bit looser than it usually was. Or maybe it was just because Lady Helena was a very beautiful woman. "But my son has never known his mother. As much as I'm sure he would love to have had her there, I'm sure that he'll find his own happiness."

He could only hope that Arthur found happiness. He doubted it would be within his marriage like he had found with his beloved Ygraine. But maybe with another, when it came time for Arthur to have children and needed a woman, maybe they could decide on one that he actually liked.

Helena smiled, a toothy smile that showed off the gap in her front teeth. "Perhaps if you found someone, if you remarried!" She suggested brightly, giving off a tinkling laugh as she looked up at him through her eyelashes. "I'm sure you'd have the pick of any maiden in the kingdom." As much as she hated to admit it, many people probably wouldn't mind marrying a tyrant like Uther simply for the crown that he wore.

"Well, perhaps I'll find love again." Uther said slowly, trying to reach for her hand again.

Helena casually picked up her drink at the same moment, her smile never wavering. As if she would allow this man to touch her. He was absolutely nothing like the man that gave her a son. Her late husband had actually been a simpleton, but for the short time that they'd been together, he had made her happy. Or as happy as she could be in a kingdom that thought her gifts were a curse.

"But I'm afraid," Uther said slowly, bringing his hand back to his side of the table. "That it's to late to replace Arthur's mother." Not a single soul in all the land would be able to replace that Iight that Ygraine had given him.

"Yes," Helena said, bringing her goblet up to her lips. "It's certainly to late for Arthur." She drunk her wine deep and slow, savoring what may be her last drink before her plan was enacted tonight. "And his fiancé?"

Uther looked up from his plate at her question.

"Will her parents be in attendance?" Helena asked. "I am sure that her family will want to be here to see her being given away to a new home." What she wanted to know was if Arthur's intended would have anyone to comfort her after his death. If she truly did love him, then she would be a wreck and make no mistake, 'Helena' had no beat with the girl. It would probably be a good thing to have someone there as a comfort.

Uther looked increasingly uncomfortable because of all of the female pronouns that she had used. "Uh, no. His parents won't be there. They are, unfortunately, unable to attend." He didn't want to admit that he would probably have Hunith arrested if she tried to come. Having her miss her own child's wedding was a revenge all on its own, for her trying to escape their deal.

Helena's eyes widened, "Him?" She repeated slowly.

Uther let out an uncomfortable cough, "Would you like more wine?" He said quickly, reaching for the pitcher.

There was no more discussion on the topic. Helena moved her goblet to allow Uther to top off her glass. And while Uther went back to his strawberries, Helena was thinking.

Him? Now wasn't that an interesting tidbit of information. She hadn't even been aware that Arthur was interested in men as well as women. Well, it certainly would be interesting to meet a man that had gotten himself tied in with the Pendragon family.

Just outside the castle, Merlin was making it across the courtyard with determined steps. It was surprisingly bare, only a handful of people walking through. And Merlin was one of them, walking along the side of the castle.

'Merlin'

He heard that voice again, as he'd been hearing it ever since he'd finished his conversation with Morris. As if it knew that he was looking for it, it had returned. It got louder and louder the closer he walked to wherever it was. But only in his head, thumping against the inside of his head harder and harder with each passing minute.

Whoever was calling him, whatever they wanted, they were making sure that he heard them loud and clear.

But who was calling him? Why would they want him? How did they know his name? How did they know that he was here at all?

All of those questions circled themselves in his mind. Questions that he had no answers to. But that was why he was following the mysterious voice that nobody else seemed to notice. To find out.

Merlin was almost towards the end of the castle when he'd crashed into somebody that suddenly, unexpectedly, stepped into his path. It almost knocked him straight off his feet although the other man hadn't even budged an inch.

Grumbling to himself, Merlin rubbed at his nose where he'd smacked straight into something hard.

Metal. Of course it had to be metal. The metal chest plate of armor to be exact.

"Er, sorry." Merlin said sheepishly, looking up at the much taller man. A very familiar knight that was glaring daggers at him as if he'd done it on purpose. He was just as he was earlier. He looked thick and intimidating, especially with the glare on his face.

The one thing that set off his rough exterior were the bright pink daises he had clenched tightly in one fist at his side.

The knight that guarded the royal wing gave him a huff and walked around him, starting to walk away.

Merlin looked back to where he had been heading, where the voice had been guiding him. And then he looked after the knight that was walking away from him.

After a minute of uncertainty, Merlin called after the knight, "Do you have a date tonight?" He asked curiously. Who would have thought it? A grumpy old knight like that bringing flowers to his date.

Merlin almost wished he'd have someone bring him flowers. Hell, he would even bring flowers to somebody. He doubted Arthur was the flower giving type. Hell, he wasn't even the-let's talk for five minutes without having a fight-type.

The knight shot him an almost threatening glare, "What of it?" He demanded harshly, as he did when anybody seemed to get to invested in his personal life.

"I just mean..." Merlin started. "You're carrying flowers so I thought maybe you had a date."

The knight glared daggers at Merlin as if assessing his threat level. His non existent threat level. "My wife's pregnant." He finally grunted. "She's due any day now."

Merlin grinned, "Really? That's so sweet! And you're bringing her flowers? She must be a special lady." It almost made him sad again, even though his smile never wavered. He was happy for the knight, he really was.

It was just that it was the kind of life he wanted. Obviously he wouldn't get pregnant but for somebody to care enough to bring him flowers. If only because they thought that it would cheer him up.

Merlin watched fascinated as some of the harshness in the knight seemed to soften up. "She is." He said quietly, almost as if he was talking to himself. As if he didn't even realize that Merlin was still there watching him.

Merlin swallowed hard. To have a man look that way when thinking of him, all soft and happy. Someone who might want to spend hours just lying together talking late in the night. Someone who wouldn't care if he looked stupid, just to make Merlin's day a little brighter. Someone who...who...would bring him flowers just because!

Someone...not like Arthur.

'Merlin' the voice struck him again out of nowhere, almost beating like a drum in his brain. Merlin flinched, startled by the suddenness of it.

The knight gave Merlin a look, his eyes back to narrowed slits as he observed Merlin's motion.

'Merlin' the voice said again, calling out to him.

"Uh, gotta go!" Merlin said quickly. He started to hurry away at a faster than normal pace. He was going for normal but that was pretty much blown out the window. "Oh, and tell your wife congrats!" He called over his shoulder before disappearing completely.

The knight, Gregory, stared at the spot he'd just vanished from. Should he follow the kid or should he not...he had seemed kind of suspicious. But then again, he was just a kid. He was probably getting up to something he shouldn't be. It probably wasn't anything criminal.

Probably.

Looking around and seeing that he was now the only one in the vicinity, Gregory just shrugged it off. He doubted the kid could cause to much of a problem. He was just probably trying to find some privacy before tonight.

So dismissing the boy's folly as nothing more than being a teenager, something that he would never understand, Gregory headed off in the other direction. He had a wife to get home to and they had a baby to get out.

The physician had recommended some...physical...activities, that might help the baby arrive sooner.

Now wouldn't that be something else.

Merlin reached the other side of the castle faster than he thought he would have. The voice was even louder right here, that meant he had to be going in the right direction. The right direction pretty much being in the back of the castle where only a handful of people ever ventured.

'Merlin' he heard the voice say again.

Merlin walked alongside the back of the castle until he found an open doorway. There was a set of stairs heading down underneath the castle. Merlin looked both ways, making sure that he was alone and nobody was watching him.

Then he went down the stairs.

He only made it down one flight of stairs before stopping just before the second flight. At the bottom of the stairs was a table set up and two knights were sitting at it playing dice.

Merlin quickly crouched down, trying to make himself as invisible as possible behind the wrought iron railing. Although it wouldn't help much since each bar to the railing was several inches apart.

'Merlin'

Crap, he had to get down there. Whatever was calling him, whoever it was, it was sounding almost desperate. As if whoever it was needed to talk to him. And he couldn't deny that his own curiosity was practically killing him as well.

When one of the knights went to pick up the dice on the table, Merlin's eyes flashed gold. The two dice shot from the table, rolling away from the knights.

The two knights looked at each other with frowns of confusion. Then one of the knights stood up and went after the dice.

Merlin rolled his eyes. That wouldn't help him, he needed both of the knights to go. So with a flash of golden eyes, he made the dice roll further down one of the many tunnels the knights were guarding.

The knight glanced back at his buddy still at the table before following the dice again. And just before he could pick them up, they went rolling further into the shadows of the tunnel again.

Finally, the second knight stood up and came after him.

Merlin grinned, his eyes flashing gold one more time. The dice went flying further into the tunnel and the two knights went after them, trying to find them in the shadows. They hadn't even bothered to bring a torch with them to make it easier.

Uther really needed to employ some smarter knights if the ones he had, had no problem following flying dice into a dark tunnel. It was almost kind of fun watching them chase it.

But now that they were out of the way, Merlin had to act quickly.

He hurried down the rest of the stairs and snatched up a thing of wood off the pile of wood leaning against the wall. Glancing back to make sure that they were still down the tunnel looking for the other dice, Merlin put his torch up to one of the lit torches hanging off the wall.

It took a minute for the one he was holding to catch fire on the end. But once it did, Merlin cast another cautious look towards the tunnel the knights had gone down. There would be no way for him to lie his way out of this one if he was caught.

'Merlin' the voice erupted in his head again.

Merlin took his new torch and headed down another side tunnel. It led to another set of stairs. Before he went down there, he glanced back down the tunnel towards where he had come from. He could still see the light from the wall torches in the doorway.

Was he really doing this? Was he really going to follow this mystery voice to this unknown place, where he hadn't told anybody where he was going. What if something horrible happened?

But then again, what could be more horrible than what would happen tonight? At least if something did happen, he wouldn't have to promise to spend his life alongside Arthur.

'Merlin' the voice hit him again full force.

Before he could stop himself. Before he could take a moment and think things through. Before he could realize that this might be a bad idea, Merlin went down the stairs.

The staircase led to an open room and Merlin lifted his torch higher to see more of it. It took him an embarrassingly long minute to realize that this wasn't a room. It was some kind of underground cavern, a huge one. It probably stretched on for miles right underneath the castle.

Merlin felt his breath hitch, amazed. Did the people of Camelot know about this? Did they know about the underground cave situated right under their feet. He somehow doubted that they did, being that the door had been so hard for him to find. He almost hadn't seen it at first, the way it was built into the wall.

Merlin took cautious steps out, trying to see more of the cave before he jolted to a stop. He took several large steps back when he realized that he was standing on the edge of a cliff.

Glancing at the floor around his feet, Merlin cautiously kicked a large stone off the edge. He could hear the sounds it made as the stone bounced off of the rocks for several long minutes before it faded.

A very steep cliff it was then.

A very steep cliff that could kill him if he fell over the edge. He took another step back, almost unsettled.

"Merlin," the voice hit him again. It almost sounded like there was laughter in its tone. And Merlin's heart stopped for a minute. Because the voice wasn't coming from inside his head any longer. No, it was coming from right in front of him.

Merlin jolted his arm up, raising his torch and waving it in front of him wildly, trying to see. He squinted, trying to make out the dark shape half hidden in the flickering firelight.

The first thing he noticed was the giant green eyes staring at him from the dark. Merlin's breath hitched in his throat. And then the shape moved.

Merlin jolted back with a startled yell, almost falling over his own feet as a flash of brown came flying at him. He squeezed his eyes shut, bringing his arms up to hold them defensively over his head.

But nothing hit him. Nothing at all. After a moment, Merlin realized that there was nothing but silence. Peeking through the gap in his arms, Merlin cautiously started to lower them back down, fingers clenched tightly around the base of his torch.

Then his breath hitched, his eyes went wide and he felt his mouth falling open. All he could do was stare at the huge beast in front of him. It must have been forty or sixty feet long and just as tall as well. Sitting with his clawed feet digging into the stone wall across from where Merlin was standing. It's brown scales glimmered under the flickering firelight of his torch. Each scale seemed to shine like a new copper piece.

"What ever took you so long?" The dragon chortled. Merlin stared at it blankly. The talking dragon chortled because yeah, why not have the dragon be able to talk? That made perfect sense. Why wouldn't a dragon be able to talk?

The dragon that Gaius had told him about, the dragon that was locked away under the city. Because really, what else could it be other than that? After all, how many dragons could there be locked away under a castle. Especially when according to Gaius, all of the other dragons were long gone.

The dragon looked down at the young sorcerer in front of him and Merlin could have sworn that it was smiling. Was it smiling? How did you know if a dragon was smiling?

"You seem very small," the dragon started talking again. It would take Merlin a minute to get his mind to process that yes, this dragon was definitely talking to him. More than that, the dragon had called for him to be here. Had actively sought him out. "For someone whose destiny is so big."

Merlin felt his mind swirling. He struggled through trying to comprehend what the dragon was saying. Destiny? What in the world was the dragon talking about? A destiny? His destiny? What did the dragon know about his destiny?

Finally, he got up enough nerve to speak. He sounded almost desperate when he said, "What do you mean? What destiny?"

He didn't care if it came from a dragon. He didn't care if he had to go into a mysterious cave that only a handful of people knew existed. He didn't care about anything. If the dragon could give him the information he needed, if the dragon could give him answers to the questions he'd have all of his life, he was more than willing to listen.

"Your gift, Merlin," The dragon said. Merlin didn't even bother asking how the dragon knew his name. He had more important questions, things he needed to know. Was this it? Was he finally going to find out the truth. The truth about why he was born. "Was given to you for a reason."

Merlin felt his breath hitch. It was almost as if he wasn't even talking to a dragon anymore. He was just talking to somebody who knew things, who knew more about him than anyone else.

More than his mother.

More than his Uncle Gaius.

"So there is a reason." Merlin said quietly, eyes wide with wonder, the hope in his voice unmistakable. After all these years, the moment he had been waiting for was finally here.

The last thing he was expecting was to hear Arthur's name crop up.

"Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion." The dragon said, sounding completely serious. As if this was the god honest truth, something that everybody should know.

Merlin just stared at the dragon, trying to understand what the hell he was talking about. But he just kept coming up blank. "...Right." He said slowly. What was he supposed to say to something like that. The only words he'd understood was Arthur, King, and unite. He had no idea what once and future meant. Or uniting the land of Albion. There were five large kingdoms in Albion, Camelot being one of them. It would be completely mad to try and unite them. And for them all to be under Arthur's rule?

Merlin could think of a dozen people that would make a better ruler. Hell, that baker he'd passed in town square would probably make a better ruler.

The dragon kept talking as if Merlin understood a single word he was saying. "But he faces many threats from friend and foe alike."

Friend and foe? Don't get Merlin wrong. He could definitely see why someone would want to try something against Arthur. Hell, he'd tried twice just to hit him in the one or two days since he'd first met him.

But still... "I don't see what this has to do with me." Merlin called up to the dragon. What did people trying to threaten Arthur have anything to do with him? Other than making him a widow but Merlin was finding it hard to believe why that was a bad thing at the moment.

But the dragon seemed pretty confident when he said boldly, "Everything." Merlin's brows creased together with his confusion. "Without you, Arthur will never succeed. Without you, there will be no Albion."

No Albion? What could Merlin do? He was just one person. Just an untrained sorcerer who couldn't even control himself. As if Merlin would be the one deciding force over rather or not there was an Albion. He was just a simple farm boy from a village practically in the middle of nowhere's. There was no chance that something as big as this could depend on him helping Arthur succeed in creating whatever this Albion was.

Hell, at this point, Merlin doubted Arthur would be able to rule Camelot. He hated to see a world where the entire country was under Arthur's rule instead of just his own side of the kingdom.

"You've got this wrong." Merlin called up boldly to the dragon. That had to be it. The dragon had to be wrong, had to have made some kind of mistake. Maybe that was it. Maybe this was all some kind of big misunderstanding. Even if the dragon truly believed that something like uniting Albion was even possible, there was absolutely no way it would rely on Merlin doing what, helping Arthur succeed?

Maybe if this whole thing was true, maybe he had the wrong sorcerer. Maybe someone else was supposed to come down here. Maybe there was some kind of magical interference that caused Merlin to pick up on the dragon calling for him instead of whoever he really meant.

He probably meant to call some big, powerful sorcerer. Someone with actual muscles, from an influential family, someone strong who knew exactly what they were doing.

Someone...not Merlin.

But the dragon didn't seem to think that he was mistaken at all when he said, "There is no right or wrong," he said calmly. "Only what is and what isn't."

Which didn't help Merlin at all. In fact, he was probably more confused than he was before. Was he suppose to be understanding anything that was going on? Because he didn't.

It was like having one giant puzzle. Only not a single piece would fit no matter how much you tried to force it into place. It just didn't add up, just didn't go together, it just...didn't make any sense.

Either way, Merlin was completely and one hundred percent lost at this point. He was even more lost than he was before he'd ever came down here in the first place.

"I'm being serious!" Merlin called to the dragon, as if the dragon thought he was joking. Because the dragon sure seemed to be under the impression that Merlin understood anything that was going on. "I know that we'll be..." his breath hitched as he became aware of the passing time. Of how soon it was coming up. Far to fast, far to soon, it was like it was spinning out of control and he wasn't in charge. "Tied together because of our marriage but-"

"Marriage?" The dragon interrupted. And for the first time, Merlin saw that the dragon actually looked surprised. "What do you mean marriage? Whose marriage?"

Merlin was surprised now. The dragon could call out to him but couldn't see other things that were happening in the city. It was pretty much all anyone was talking about, as much as he hated to admit to being the topic of discussion. Even if nobody seemed to realize that it was him they were discussing. They all thought it was some Princess, and he almost thought this with surprising bitterness.

"Yes." Merlin answered the dragon. "My marriage to Arthur is happening tonight. We'll be...tied together forever after this." And Merlin honestly wasn't sure if this was a world that he could survive in. A world where royalty was so prominent, a world in which he was apart of but yet not apart of all at the same time. A world in which he didn't understand, so different from everything that he knew.

The dragon looked contemplative now. "A marriage." He said slowly, looking like he was musing over that deeply. Had he actually stumped a dragon? Well it was official, Merlin had just seen about everything now. "So that's how it is." But it looked as if he was talking to himself and not to Merlin at all.

Merlin looked at him confused, "How what is? What is going on?" He demanded, sounding stronger than he actually felt.

The dragon seemed to remember that he was still there, as if he'd somehow actually forgotten that they were in the middle of a conversation. "Oh, nothing of consequence." The dragon said dismissively, trying to brush the boy's questions aside.

It was far to soon to tell that boy that it had been foretold in eons passed of the boy that would become the Once and Future King, of a prince who would be born and bring magic back to a kingdom that scorned it.

That was just one prediction though. There had been others where it foretold that the prince would be the one to ruin magic forever. Of this prince who would ruin what little land was left and bury magic in the ground...forever.

Each prediction of the future was a possibility, as were dozens similar to it. There had been dozens upon dozens of true seers who had seen different versions of what may happen. And the dragon had seen almost all of them himself.

There had been many arguments and discord over the years because of these predictions. An unease that rose among the few that had the sight, a rare and special talent that allowed certain people to be born with the ability to glimpse into the future. A gift that while it could manifest at birth, most often than not, came to be when the child needed it the most. When something horrible was about to happen, their magic would awaken in their time of need, in an attempt to stop it before it happened.

There was only one thing that could be agreed on during those troubling times.

The Once and Future King would have to make a choice on the kind of king that he would be. It was a decision that would effect millions, both in his own kingdom and out. A decision that was so long in the making, it would either save the lives of millions or kill them all.

And it would all depend on the young sorcerer that stood by his side. Because not one seer had had a prediction about the Once and Future King without seeing the young sorcerer who was just as important, if not even more important than the King himself.

The sorcerer had always been a distant figure in these visions. But he was always there, constant, always just within sight but hidden in the shadows. Nobody had been able to tell if he was a friend to the prince, or an enemy.

One thing had been clear though.

The future depended on the scrawny shoulders of the young sorcerer in front of him. It would be the decisions the sorcerer made in the future that would determine if the prince became Magic's savior or its destructor.

The decisions the sorcerer and the young prince would make over the next few years would be the deciding factor on rather magic would rein free again.

Or if it vanished from the planet...forever.

But the dragon had to admit, he had yet to see a prediction in where the young sorcerer and the prince were married.

When the dragon clearly wasn't going to answer him, Merlin felt his irritation spike. Mainly because they were talking about Arthur instead of why he was there. Even in a cave under the city talking to an actual dragon, he couldn't escape the prince.

"Honestly?" Merlin started. "If anyone wants to kill him, they can go ahead." Merlin thought back to Arthur during their first meeting. How he was tormenting Morris. To Merlin trying to punch him and Arthur trying to throw him in the dungeons. To Arthur swinging a mace at his head. To Merlin feeling the cold embrace of humiliation several times since he'd been in Camelot, all of them featuring Arthur in some way. To Merlin watching Arthur walk away from him. He swallowed back the lump forming in his throat. "In fact, I'll give them a hand."

The dragon started to chuckle, as if it was amusing to watch Merlin's struggle. "None of us can escape our destiny, Merlin." As if Merlin's destiny had already been decided. As if Merlin's destiny was out of his hands and he had no choice but to follow it. As if Merlin's destiny was in anyway tied to Arthur's. The dragon seemed almost sad as he finished his sentence. "And none of us can escape it."

Merlin felt the lump in his throat growing bigger and there was only one thing to say to this. "No, no way, no no." As if him saying it several times would drill the point home. As if him saying it several times would somehow stop any of this from happening. When he had asked for answers, these weren't the kind of answers he had been hoping for. "There must be another Arthur because this one's an idiot."

God, he hoped there was another Arthur. Camelot was a huge kingdom. There had to be millions of Arthur's running around it. Surely any one of them could take on ruling this Albion, whatever that was supposed to mean again.

The dragon didn't seem to concerned though, completely confident in what he was saying. "Perhaps it's your destiny to change that."

Change it? Arthur was a brand of idiot that Merlin had never encountered before. He couldn't just change it, change him. There was no way that Arthur would listen to him to begin with. Not a chance actually.

Merlin watched startled as the dragon suddenly spread its wings. For a second there, Merlin had almost forgotten that he'd been talking to an actual dragon. A real, live, fire-breathing (probably), dragon.

It's wingspan was probably taller than Merlin. Merlin, plus ten more people around his height. The wings stretched, almost reaching the cave walls on either side of him. And then with a flap of his wings, the dragon took off. He flew deeper and deeper into the cavern as if he hadn't just shaken Merlin's entire world. The chain attached to the dragon's clawed foot, keeping him prisoner inside this cave, rattled harshly as the dragon went further away.

"Wait! Stop!" Merlin begged. He shouted off into the distance. He was unable to follow, unable to do anything, other than watch the dragon disappear into the darkness of the cave. He went so much further back that when Merlin lifted his torch, trying to see further, he couldn't even see the dragon any longer. "Please! I need to know more!" He begged.

He begged and he raged for he didn't know how long. He tried to bargain and shout but nothing he did made the dragon come back. It felt like hours but in reality, haven't been more than a few minutes. But ultimately, he had no choice but to admit defeat. It was obvious that the dragon wasn't coming back, especially not with clearer answers.

Merlin had arrived with questions, hoping to finally get some kind of answer. But he was leaving with no answers and even more questions than he had before. His mind was whirring, replaying what had just happened over and over again in his mind. He thought over every single sentence the dragon had said but he didn't have a moment of clarity on anything.

It was like Swiss cheese. There was nothing but holes in both the cheese and this conversation. Not one piece of this conversation had been any help to him.

What was Albion?

What did the dragon mean by calling Arthur the 'Once and Future King?'

What role did Merlin have to play in this?

His life was bound with Arthur's simply because of their marriage. But was there more to their destiny together than just a forced arrangement? Why did he have so many more questions than he'd started with? Why did the dragon literally give him no answers? Nothing he had told him was actually something that he could work with.

Why was Arthur so important? And more importantly, why was it Merlin's destiny to help Arthur create this, what had the dragon called it again, Albion?

The whole thing was ridiculous. It sounded like some kind of made up story. Something fantastical that mothers would tell their children as a bed time story. It didn't sound like anything that would be someone's actual life. It didn't sound anything like the kind of life that Merlin had.

When it became clear that the dragon was never going to return, was never going to give him a clearer answer, Merlin finally left the cave. He went back up the stairs the way he came, going down the tunnel until he eventually reached the main room again. He was so caught up in his thoughts, the dozen of extra questions still whirling around in his head, Merlin didn't think to stop and look for the knights that had been guarding the entrance. But it turned out that it didn't matter. Merlin could still hear the knights bumbling around like idiots down the second tunnel. They were still looking for their dice but it sounded like they were fumbling into each other more than actually looking for the dice in the dark.

Merlin didn't pay them any mind. He stomped out his torch and dropped the wood back on the pile of wood. Then he hurried up the stairs and back out into the light of the surface.

Merlin didn't know how he returned home. He just started walking in a daze. His mind just wouldn't let off about what had just happened. It was mind blowing and confusing and he kept thinking, what the hell did he just hear.

He somehow made it back home because the next time he came to, he was throwing himself onto his cot. He practically collapsed on it, feeling his muscles relax as he sunk onto it, laying on his stomach. He had just let his eyes flutter close, forcing himself to relax. Just a few minutes. Just a few minutes of some uninterrupted rest. That was all he wanted. After what he'd just heard and after what was happening tonight, he really just needed another nap.

He grabbed his pillow that was up against the headboard above his head. Snatching it up, he dragged it under his chin and buried his face into the cold fabric. He could feel himself start to drift off. Maybe with any luck, he would sleep straight through the wedding and these royals would be so offended that they would let him go back to Ealdor.

He was in that little place you go where you were pretty much asleep but still semi-aware of your surroundings. That sweet little darkness where he could feel himself giving in, letting the darkness overtake him. Just a few minutes where he didn't have to think of absolutely anything.

That was exactly what he needed right now.

He didn't get it.

His door flung open and Merlin's eyes snapped open just as fast. "Where have you been!" Gaius called from the doorway, eyes scanning over the mess that the room had become in just a day. At some point, Merlin's other clothes had been strewn around across the floor. The bucket of water he'd used to wash them had been emptied out but it was now tipped over on its side. His blankets were barely clinging onto a corner of the bed, the rest hanging off onto the floor. And there Merlin was, all stretched out. Pretty much taking up as much space on the small bed that he could. Which was impressive since even though he was tall, at least six feet, he was a scrawny fella.

Merlin groaned, turning his head to bury it into his pillow some more. So close, he had been so close to getting just a little more sleep. Today had been a rough enough day as it was.

"Merlin!" Gaius snapped loudly.

Merlin finally flopped over onto his back. He looked at his uncle with sleepy eyes. "I was..." he froze. Should he tell his uncle that he'd found the dragon? Should he tell him what the dragon had said to him? "Nowhere, I was nowhere." He finished quickly. He didn't want to say anything, not until he got some actual information. His eyes looked suddenly a lot less sleepy as he sat up, averting his eyes to another corner of the room. He winced when he realized that the washboard he had used to wash his clothes with was now tipped over on its side against the wall by his bed. How it ended up over there was a mystery to him.

Gaius didn't look entirely convinced, giving Merlin a stern look. He crossed his arms, raising an unconvinced eyebrow at his nephew.

"I was just...walking around town." Merlin lied weakly. "Getting a real feel of the place, you know."

"As if you haven't gotten enough of a feel over the last few days." Gaius said dryly. It was an uncomfortable reminder of what seemed to happen every time he went into the city. For a guy that had a huge castle at his disposal, Arthur did spend a lot of time in the city.

Mainly making Merlin want to punch him but still.

Gaius shook his head and went back to observing the mess the room had gotten to be in. He shook his head, plucking at a blue top. The cabinet door where Merlin could put his clothes in had one door wide open. On the corner was the blue shirt hanging on it.

How it ended up there was anybody's guess.

"How in the world did you do this to your room?" Gaius shook his head. "It's absolutely horrid, you haven't been in here that long." Teenagers, he would never understand teenagers.

"It just happens." Merlin said sheepishly. He had no excuses. Even his mom had asked him how he managed to keep his clothes everywhere that they weren't supposed to be.

"By magic?" Gaius guessed dryly. But he wasn't believing a word of it.

Merlin grinned sheepishly, moving to sit on the edge of his bed. "Yep, magic. The magic just...exploded. It just made everything go...everywhere." He finished. And at this point, it was obvious to even himself that it was a lie.

"I'm very sure it did." Gaius scoffed. He picked the blue tunic off of the corner of the cabinet and tossed it at his nephew's face. Merlin coughed and sputtered in surprise when it landed on his head. "And since your magic is so volatile, you can clean your room without magic." Merlin couldn't even argue with him there, tossing his tunic to the other side of the bed. "Now," Gaius got serious. "I need you to deliver something for me." He dropped a canteen onto the bed beside Merlin. "Now, I need you to hurry up because this will be your last delivery today."

"My last?" Merlin asked, rolling off of the bed. He picked up the worn looking canteen carefully sealed. It felt a good bit heavy and there was a strap coming off of it that could wrap around his wrist. "You don't need any more deliveries today?"

"No, I do." Gaius said.

Merlin frowned. If he needed more deliveries done, then why wasn't he sending Merlin to go do them? Who else was going to do them? Did Uncle Gaius have someone he usually called to do it before Merlin had gotten there? Or did he do it himself?

"Then why don't I do it?" Merlin finally asked, confused. He had been using these deliveries to help him learn his way around the castle. From what he could tell, it was the fastest way to learn where he was going. It had been more helpful than he'd thought at first.

"Because," Gaius said as if the answer should have been obvious. "Your marriage is in a few hours. We can't risk you running late because you're running around delivering potions all over the castle."

Merlin looked down at the canteen in his hand, eyebrows furrowing together. "Right...my wedding." He said quietly, almost talking to himself more than anything. His wedding...Arthur...it was practically, literally, right around the corner. It would be like a blink of an eye. One minute, he was just plain old Merlin. And the next, he would be Merlin, husband of Arthur Pendragon.

"Merlin." Gaius said, eyes looking suspiciously soft. Merlin raised his head just far enough to meet his uncle's eyes. "You...will be okay, won't you."

Merlin hesitated for a few seconds longer than he wanted to. But he quickly plastered on a smile that was a little too weak looking for Gaius's taste. "Yeah, I'll be fine." Merlin waved him off. "I always am." Gaius didn't look convinced but nodded. There wasn't much else he could say at this point. It wasn't like anything he could do would change anything that was happening. All he could do was be there for when his nephew needed him. "Now, where was this going to?" Merlin asked, holding up the canteen in his hand, the strap now loosely wrapped around his wrist.

"To Lady Morgana," Gaius started to explain. "The poor-"

He was cut off by Merlin who had been trying to walk to the door. But as soon as Gaius had said her name, Merlin had stumbled straight into the foot of the bed. He cried out, bending over as he stubbed his toe painfully. He would have thought boots would have been thicker with a tougher skin. But Merlin had these boots for a year at this point and they were starting to look as worn out as the rest of his belongings. All Gaius could do was sigh. He suppose he would just have to get used to Merlin's fumbling around.

"Lady Morgana?" Merlin asked, still rubbing at his toe through his boot. "I'm gonna meet another person in the royal family?" He knew Gaius said that Morgana wasn't anything like Arthur but he was still worried. What if she was just better at hiding it? What if she was cruel behind closed doors, where nobody could see her? What if she had more decorum than Arthur did and knew how to treat those of a lesser birth than her with indifference in public, but with mocking and arrogance just like Arthur when in private.

"Be happy she's the last one." Gaius said bluntly. "I've seen some noble families with at least ten immediate members. At least the Pendragon's only have three." He stopped to think for a moment. "Although there has been some debate on rather or not Lady Morgana counts since she was more or less adopted and not a blood heir to the throne."

"Really?" Merlin asked before shaking it off. He didn't know why anybody would question something like that. If Uther had pretty much adopted Morgana, then shouldn't that still make her a member of the royal family? Even if she wasn't eligible for the throne or anything since Arthur was Uther's direct heir, she should still be known as a member of the family,

"You'll be surprised what some of us old people hear getting passed around." Gaius grumbled. Some people thought that just because they were old, their hearing was completely gone as well. He wasn't that old yet. Gaius cast a look to the open windows, seeing the sun would be lowering soon enough. "Now, get going before you're late for your own wedding."

Merlin cast a forlorn look towards the sun himself, almost willing it to go backwards, to go back up high in the sky. Just so he could have a little more time.