Never Free ~ Merlin x Reader

2 - The Shoes

"aaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh!" We look up to see something fly over our heads and head straight for our house.

"What was that?" Hans asks. "Some kind of bird?"

I start jogging towards the house. "Keep up, shorties!" I call back to the cute little dwarves following me. I love teasing them about how short they are. It's hilarious how pissed they get.

I make it to the house before them. There's a trench dug in our front pathway that leads to a tree with a witch's broom lodged in it. In the leaves above is the silhouette of a woman. Either a witch learning to fly or someone who shouldn't have tried to ride a broom. Inside the house, something clatters. Well, whoever it is, they're in our house.

"What is it, Onyx?" I hear Merlin pant behind me.

"Looks like someone crashlanded and is now raiding our house," I say.

"Maybe it's the witch that cursed us!" Arthur suggests making me glare at him.

"How many times do I have to tell you, she wasn't a witch?" I say, slightly annoyed. Arthur shrinks back a little from me but I shake it off. "Anyway, you guys go in the front door. Hans, go around the back, I'll cut off the exits. Got it?"

"Got it," Merlin repeats and leads the group to the door. I circle around the house and make sure the windows are closed. When I make it back to the front door I hear a loud bang!

What the fuck?

I go in and the boys are all standing around an unconscious woman on the floor.

"Are you kidding me?" I ask them. They all turn to me with a sheepish look. I roll my eyes and scoff. "Let's get her to my room. Hans, get a snack tray ready. Jack a bowl of cold water and a rag. Arthur so get extra pillows and Merlin, triplets, you're with me," I order them. I've kind of become the manager of the group since they shrunk. And they're used to it. I'm usually always right and they know it.

The guys all go and do the thing I told them to. I scoop up the girl bridal style and carry her to my room. Merlin opens the door for me. I notice he and the twins have yet to take their eyes off her. I look down at her and realize why once I get a good look. She is the most beautiful person I have ever seen in my life. It seems like everything about her is perfect. Although, strangely enough, I feel like I've seen her before. There's a strange tickling of familiarity in the back of my skull.

The Fairy Princess said the boys have to get a kiss from the most beautiful person in the world. This has to be her. I mean, she is literally the perfect image every woman wants to be. And how else could the princess have meant it? The instructions seem pretty straightforward.

Before I can place her on my bed, Arthur and Jack walk in with their items. Arthur places the pillows under her for maximum comfort and Jack sets the bowl and rag on the nightstand.

"Who is she?" Arthur asks.

"I dunno," I answer honestly. "Maybe if she wasn't knocked out, we coulda asked."

Arthur puts his hands up in surrender. "That was Hans's doing, not mine," he says to remove the blame off him.

Hans walks in with a tray of crackers, fruit, veggies, cheeses and a lot of tea. Oh my stars, he really went all out, huh? Well, he is trying to impress her when she wakes up.

"I didn't know anyone could be so beautiful," Merlin mutters as they all lean over her. I decide to sit back on a chair, letting them gawk at her. Yes, she is beautiful, like terrifyingly gorgeous, but she isn't a zoo animal. Men are idiots.

"How did she end up with us?" Jack adds

A soft hum makes my eyes dart to her face. Her nose slightly scrunched and her eyelids flutter open. The boys all sigh when her eyes open fully but then back away quickly when she sits up.