No young woman, no matter how great can know her destiny. She cannot glimpse her part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, she must live and learn. And so it will be for the young Mage arriving at the gates of Camelot. A girl that will, in time, mother the legend. Her name: Merlyn.

Prologue

Merlyn was tired and fed up with Arthur and his stupid hunting trip, all she wanted to do was go home, back to Camelot and go to bed. But what did Arthur want to do, and therefore drag her to do? Go to a bloody tavern that's what. She didn't understand why anyone had to kill animals for sport, for food she could understand, but for sport? No! She had tried her hardest to make sure Arthur barely caught or didn't catch anything at all.
"Come on Merlyn!" Arthur shouted to his maidservant (who he secretly saw as his best friend and a little sister), from where he stood down the hill near the taverns' entrance.
"Dollophead!" Merlyn grumbled under her breath as she hurried to catch up with Arthur, after giving the horse one last stroke.

"What was that?" Arthur asked when Merlyn caught up to him.
"I said the sun is very bright." Merlyn told him while inwardly rolling her eyes. Arthur looked up to the sky shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked.
"Yeah it is." Arthur agreed before he entered the tavern.
"Dollophead!" Merlyn sighed as she followed Arthur into the tavern joining him at his table.
"My. Aren't you pretty." A lady said as she came over to the table Merlyn and Arthur were sat at. "I'd snap her up if I were you." She said turning to Arthur making him splutter and Merlyn to scrunch her nose up in disgust.
"He's more of an overbearing older brother." Merlyn finally said, ceasing Arthur's spluttering.

"Oh, pardon my mistake. So, what'll it be?" The lady asked, obviously the owner of the tavern.
"Two tankards of mead, please." Arthur asked, once she had left he raised his eyebrow at Merlyn. "Brother?" He asked.
"What? Or did you want me to say your Prince Arthur and I'm your maidservant?" Merlin asked with a roll of her eyes.
"No! I just....never knew you thought that way. What I mean is, you're like a sister to me too." Arthur said awkwardly as a blush spread across his cheeks making Merlyn giggle.

"Thank you." Merlin said, when a waitress brought over their tankards.
"Don't tell anyone I said that, Merlyn." Arthur said sternly.
"I think that's pretty much a non issue now. Given the amount of times we've saved each other, everyone already knows. Well, everyone except your father." Merlyn said, shrugging her shoulders and taking a sip of her drink. When suddenly the door banged open and a thug walked in, making the whole tavern go quiet as he knocked plates to the floor.

"Afternoon, Mary. Business looks good." The thug said to the tavern owner who had greeted Merlyn and Arthur.
"We've have our better days." Mary answered, a slight quiver to her voice.
"I don't suppose you'd begrudge me my share, then." The thug said completely ignoring what Mary just said.
There was some discussion going on between the two before he pulled a knife on Mary when she came up short with the payment, which is when Arthur stepped in.
"Take your hands off her." Arthur ordered.

Merlyn watched anxiously as the thug attacked Arthur, but he just dodged it and threw the thug away from him, where he crashed into some barrels and onto the floor.
"I'm gonna make you pay for that." The thug growled once he got back to his feet. But Arthur just stood there completely unimpressed with his arms crossed across his chest.
Merlyn could help it, she burst out laughing as she straightened her brown coat over brown trousers, corset and white shirt.

"What's so funny, girl?" The thug growled menacingly at Merlyn making Arthur and a man with dark curly hair tense.
"I'd like to see you try." Merlyn said simply with a small smirk on her face. The thug glared at Merlyn for a second before he whistled and around fifteen thugs barged into the tavern, all laden down with weapons. Merlyn wishing she hadn't spoken moved away from the table, she didn't want to be attacked while sitting down.
"You had to open your big mouth, didn't you, Merlyn?" Arthur asked sarcastically through pursed lips.
"Well, sometimes they're all talk." Merlyn said cheekily which Arthur just shook his head at.
"You two have got yourselves in a bit of a pickle, haven't you?" The dark haired man asked as he slowly walked up to them. 

"You should get out of here while you have the chance." Arthur told him as he assessed the thugs over by the door.
"You're probably right." The man agreed. "But, I'll never leave a beautiful woman in trouble." He said before taking a long drink of his mead and handed the tankard to the bald thug. He looked from the tankard in his hand to the dark haired man confused for a moment, only to get punched in the nose by said man. Which was the start of a full blown brawl in the tavern, between pretty much everyone and the thugs.

The waitresses were hitting the thugs over the head with jugs, people were being thrown out the door, or around the tavern. Arthur was fighting the bald thug who was obviously the leader, and the other man was fighting another thug. Merlyn was holding her own rather well thanks to the lessons she had gotten from Morgana, before she turned against them. Merlyn has to admit the dark haired man was very handsome and her magic was calling out to him.
"Arthur!" Merlyn cried, rushing over to help her friend. Whacking another thug on the side of the neck which sent him to the floor with a groan of pain.

"Merlyn! Behind you!" Arthur shouted as she was unaware of the thug behind her, preoccupied with saving Arthur as usual. Spinning around Merlyn was able to duck in time to avoid the bench hitting her which smashed into the wall behind her. Making her way around the tavern she noticed two rather large thugs heading her way, looking around quickly she spotted a bench as an idea formed in her head.
"Aetslide Bencpel!" Merlyn chanted as her eyes glowed gold, before she threw the bench at the two thugs sending them crashing to the floor.

Merlyn didn't have time to ponder her next move as she heard feet thundering on the slab-stone floor behind her, looking over her shoulder she saw the man she'd hit in the neck earlier with another man, both of them running at her. Spinning on her heel she took off around the tavern evading their grasps, flying crockery and flying men. She ducked under the bar just as the men thought they had her cornered, and hit one in the head with a jug, only for a second one to hit the other one in the head.
"Thanks." Merlyn said to Mary. Once the woman was distracted she used her magic to throw some plates at another man heading her way, sending him to the floor.

She gasped when the handsome man suddenly appeared in front of her. She only hoped he didn't spot her doing magic.
"Pass the jug, huh?" He asked dropping the man he had been fighting with, who landed on the floor with a rather loud thump. Merlyn looked at him scared for a moment, before she grabbed the jug behind her.
The man nodded in thanks and took a long drink from it, only stopping to punch someone in the face.
"What do they call you, beautiful?" The man asked flirtatiously.
"Merlyn. With a 'y'." Merlyn answered, a light blush spreading across her cheeks.

"Gwaine. Pleasure to meet you." Gwaine said as he took her hand and kissed her knuckles, which only caused her blush to darken and a smirk to spread across his lips. "Are you and the blonde man you were with earlier..?" Gwaine asked, trailing off at the end.
"No. No, Arthur is more like an annoying overbearing older brother." Merlyn replied with a small laugh.
"Good." Gwaine said with a wide smile on his face. Before more could be said another man charged at Gwaine, only for Gwaine to hit him with the jug that was still full of mead. "Such a waste, huh?" Gwaine sighed, making Merlyn giggle and Gwaine to laugh.
'Merlyn has a beautiful laugh.' He thought. A loud banging coming from behind him pulled him out of his thoughts.

He and Merlyn turned around to see Arthur still fighting the leader, only for him to pull out a knife, the same one he pulled on Mary. Before Merlyn could do anything Gwaine was charging at the man and tackling him to the floor away from Arthur. Unfortunately as Gwaine tackled the thug he stabbed Gwaine in the leg, all the while Arthur just stood there with his mouth open like a fish out of water. As Gwaine tried to stand up he collapsed and hit his head on a bench knocking himself out.
"Gwaine!" Merlyn shouted worriedly, as she rushed over to the man her magic called to.

As she rummaged through the pouch on her belt for a clean bandage, she noticed Arthur coming over to them out of the corner of her eye.
"How is he?" Arthur asked worriedly, as he watched Merlyn wrap a bandage tightly above the knife acting like a tourniquet.
"Not good. He's losing a lot of blood." Merlyn said worriedly.
"We'll get him to Gaius." Arthur said as he picked Gwaine up and placed him over his shoulder and carried him out of the tavern, once Merlyn had removed the knife and stopped the bleeding, or at least slowed it down some.

As Arthur was laying Gwaine over the back of his horse, some men were dragging the thug out of the tavern and putting him in the stocks. Merlyn glared fiercely at the thug, her cerulean eyes blazing with fury as her magic raged under her skin. Not only had this scumbag tried to kill Arthur, but he had also stabbed Gwaine. Climbing onto her horse she smirked as he was pelted with rotten fruit.
"If this man ever troubles you again, word is to be sent to Camelot." Arthur said authoritatively, as he addressed the people. "Soldiers will be here within a day."
"How can you make a promise like that?" Mary asked, confused.

"'Cause I'm the King's son, Prince Arthur." Arthur replied as he started riding past them. Mary gasped in awe and wonder, that Arthur was in her tavern before they all pelted the man again. All Merlyn wanted was to get back to Camelot as soon as possible, so she and Gaius can treat Gwaine and then find out why her magic called to him, and hummed when he was near, and raged when he got hurt. Arthur and Merlyn arrived black at Camelot at nightfall, Arthur ordered some Guards to help him carry Gwaine up to Gaius' chambers.

"Put him in my room." Merlyn called. "I'll sleep on the bed over there." Merlyn said, pointing to the bed in the corner when Arthur raised an eyebrow at her.
"No. Guards help me put him on this bed,"
Arthur ordered, as they carried Gwaine to the sickbed in the corner, that it was used for patients. Gaius' bed was on the other side of the room behind one of the screens.
"Merlyn, fetch me some water, towels, a needle and silk thread." Gaius asked, interrupting Arthur's overprotective rants before they even started.

"I'll get some honey too." Merlyn called as she rushed around the room gathering all the things Gaius asked for, then going down to the well in town to fetch some clean water. When she came back Arthur and Guards were gone.
"Arthur said he's to have anything he needs." Gaius told Merlyn as they got to work. He was quite surprised at that, but since his niece had arrived she's changed him for the better and now Arthur was more caring towards his people. "Merlyn What is it?" Gaius asked his great-niece who was like a daughter to him. She had a concerned frown on her face as she bit her lip, she only bit her lip when something was troubling her.

"Gwaine. My magic calls to him, Gaius. When he's near I can feel it humming under my skin, but when he was hurt I could feel it raging and bubbling with my anger." Merlyn explained feeling quite confused.
"It sounds like you've met your soulmate, my dear girl. This is a good thing, Merlyn. You should be happy." Gaius reproached when Merlyn's frown deepened.
"What if he hates me because of my magic? I think he saw me use it in the tavern. My magic never felt like this with Frey. What if I lose him, like I did Frey? And my father, and Will? I can't go through that a fourth time, Gaius. I can't!" Merlyn exclaimed with tears in her eyes.  

"My dear girl." Gaius sighed, pulling her into a hug once he'd finished wrapping Gwaine's wound and washed his hands. "I promise you that you won't go through that again. Nor will he hate you. You trust me don't you?" Gaius asked as he kissed her forehead.
"Of course I do, Gaius." Merlyn said.
"Good. Now, why don't you have a bath and then head off to bed? I know you've had a long few days, I'll watch over him." Gaius said firmly.
Knowing how stubborn her uncle was Merlyn agreed and kissed Gaius' cheek goodnight and headed behind the other screen to the tub. She filled it up with magic as she was too tired to wait for someone to bring up some water.

Once Merlyn had finally gone to bed Gaius turned to the man laying before him.
"I really hope you will care for Merlyn and love her like she deserves. That poor girl has been through and seen too much in her young life." Gaius said warily, not knowing Gwaine could hear him and was making a promise to himself.

Thank you Arcstark for the amazing banner.

Thank you to vintagewanda  for the amazing gif.