"I've come to seek an audience with the King of Camelot," the young woman informed the guards standing watch in front of the castle gates. 

She looked up at the looming structure half in awe and half in trepidation, a sixth sense telling her that her end might happen in this very castle. Past the protection wall and watchtowers, the courtyard marked the entrance to the great castle of Camelot, where King Uther Pendragon and his one and only son, Crown Prince Arthur Pendragon, resided. 

The two men exchanged looks before uncrossing their spears to allow her to pass. The woman smiled at them winningly and walked in, brown eyes cautiously sweeping her surroundings. 

She passed by maids rushing to and fro as she entered, pausing momentarily to shoot the strange girl a curious look before hurrying on, having no time to gossip about her arrival or who she was.

The young woman tightened the cloak around her body, suddenly wondering if coming to the castle had been such a good idea. She climbed the stairs and turned a corner when she almost collided with an old man. 

"Oh, I am so sorry!" She kept her eyes downcast as she hurriedly apologized. She couldn't afford to be recognized before she met the King.

"'Tis I who must apologize, my Lady," the old man replied, his tone gentle. The young girl chanced a look up and noticed for the first time that the old man wasn't alone. A young man who appeared to be around her age hovered in the background. He wore an old, brown tunic with a red scarf tied around his neck. 

Their eyes briefly connected before she quickly looked away, returning her focus on the old man. That boy had curiosity written across his face, and she had no time for meddlesome boys. 

"I am not a Lady, my Lord, but I thank you for your kindness." 

"And I am not a Lord, merely a physician." The old man smiled. "May I inquire about the reason why you're here?"

"I'm here to seek an audience with the King," she said. "I fear I may have gotten hopelessly lost." 

"Ah, in that case." The old man turned and gestured for his young companion to step forward. The boy shot the old man a look before nevertheless complying. 

"Yes, Gaius?" 

"This lovely young lady wishes an audience with King Uther. Escort her to the viewing room, please." The man then turned to the girl and waved his hand forward. "My assistant, Merlin here, will take you to the King, my Lady."

"You are too kind, sire," the girl said, curtseying. The old man nodded and smiled once more before taking his leave.

For one silent moment, the two young people did nothing but assess each other. The young man finally nodded ahead.

"Shall we?" He gestured forward. "My name is Merlin, by the way."

"A pleasure," the girl said disinterestedly, eyes trained ahead. Merlin cleared his throat once or twice as they walked silently, trying to get her attention, but the girl ignored him. Eventually, he gave up, his expression clearly puzzled. 

They rounded a corner where another walkway met them. Guards were posted here and there and they passed about half a dozen serving girls—one of which sent Merlin a curious look to which he responded to with a shrug—the young woman finally spoke.

"Is it usually this busy during the day?" she asked.

Merlin shot her a surprised look. "Not usually, no," he said. "Today is the Crown Prince's birthday, and there will be a large feast held in his honor tonight."

"A large feast, you say," the girl quietly said, tone dry. "While the people struggle in the outlying villages to scrape enough food to survive the day, the King and his heir waste enough on a single day that can feed ten villages for a year." 

Before Merlin could respond—most likely to defend his rulers—they arrived in front of enormous doors guarded by two stoic guards. Without saying a word, they each grabbed a handle and swung the doors open, displaying a mass of people standing in line, chattering and laughing as if they had nothing in the world to worry about. 

"Well, here we are," Merlin said, scratching the back of his head. "I bid you farewell, my Lady." He bowed.

The girl looked at him and nodded. "Thank you, Merlin." With that said, she took her place in the line and prepared to wait for quite a while. 

*  *  *  *

After nearly four hours, it was finally the girl's turn to stand in front of the King. She passed the time by observing the room. The big, glass windows allowed the afternoon sunlight to stream through, spotlighting the dais where the three throne seats were placed. On them sat two figures, a man, and a lady, while another man stood behind one of the throne seats.

Uther Pendragon held parchments that were open in his lap, seeming bored as he sifted through them. To his left sat a lady with a face as beautiful and cold as snow, appearing lost in thought. The Lady Morgana, the King's Ward, the young woman mused.

To the right of the King stood a boy behind one of the seats, appearing to be no older than her, with a mop of golden hair and sky blue eyes gazing at the people with a thoughtful expression on his face. This must be Arthur Pendragon, the girl thought. Crown Prince and heir of Camelot. She observed him for a moment and found herself feeling disappointed. There doesn't appear to be much to him. Just another royal arse. 

"State your business here," the King commanded without looking up from his lap. "There are others behind you, so don't hold up the line."

"Well, for starters, you should stare at the person in front of you, sire, not at your lap," the young woman purred. A hush fell over the room, the chatter dying a quick and sudden death.

The King glanced up sharply, a scowl marring his middle-age wrinkled face. "You dare disrespect your King? I can have you flogged for such insolence." Now even Lady Morgana and Prince Arthur were staring at her, the Prince's hand resting on his sword hilt in a threatening manner. 

The girl slowly lowered the cowl covering her head, her ink-black hair tumbling down to the small of her back in lazy curls, the pearls woven in its strands and around her forehead sparkling dimly in the afternoon sun. Warm brown eyes, veiled by thick, dark lashes and arched eyebrows, stared directly at the flabbergasted King and his companions. 

"I dare, sire, because you are not my king."

"Guards!" Prince Arthur exclaimed. "Seize her!" The incredulous look was quickly wiped away by a fierce glare. Immediately, the guards swung the doors open and rushed in, each grabbing an arm as the girl stood in her place, unmoving.

So it was going to be one of those days, she thought wryly. 

A/N: Welcome to my first ever fanfiction story, based on The Adventures of Merlin, the TV show! While Merlin and the rest of the cast make appearances here, the story is mostly focused on Freya, Merlin's first and only love who died in the show but is reborn here as someone else who doesn't even resemble the same girl Merlin fell for. She does not remember anything of her past life. 

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it! How the show ended pissed me off to no end, so I decided to write my own version of it. XD 

If you'd like to vote and/or comment on this story, that's great and I very much appreciate it, but if not that's fine too as I wrote this story for fun (and for the fans of the show who felt the same way I did) and I'm not really being serious with it. :) 

Updates are sporadic as I'm mostly focused on finishing a trilogy that I'm hoping to publish in the near future. Enjoy what is available anyhow! ^-^ 

A HUGE thank you goes to my talented friend, shadowsinthestars, for making the gorgeous cover you see up there! She captured the essence of the story so perfectly! :') Thank you so much, Arti! <3 Y'all NEED to check out her graphics shop and her beautiful story, Red Illusions! (I'm still waiting on that update >.<).