Merlin and Arthur rode side by side out of the woods, tired from the hunt, despite not catching anything. They continued to ride until they reached the top of a hill, overlooking a village. "You know what you need after a hard day's hunt?" Arthur asked.
"Sleep?"
"A nice cold tankard of mead."
Merlin shook her head, unimpressed. Men. "Mead? Really?"
A short ride later, Merlin found herself in front of a tavern. "Now remember," Arthur told her, "in here, you're not my servant. I'm just a simple peasant just like everyone else."
"Simple part's right," Merlin muttered.
"What?"
"Uh, I said that the sun is very bright."
"Yes, I suppose it is."
Merlin rolled her eyes at Arthur's obliviousness and followed him into the tavern. Arthur was just about to order when-
"Afternoon, Mary. Business looks good," Dagr, a man that Merlin and Arthur had encountered before, said to the tavern hostess.
"We've had our better days," Mary replied. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of her forehead.
"I don't suppose you'd begrudge me my share, then."
Mary tossed some coins at Dagr. He counted them and frowned. "And the rest?"
"That's all we've got."
"I'll not ask again," Dagr growled and pulled out a knife, pressing it against Mary's throat.
"Take your hands off her," Arthur interrupted.
The man turned around with a sneer and swung his weapon at Arthur. Arthur dodged it and pushed Dagr into the wall. The man stood up. "I'll make you pay for that."
"I'd like to see you try," Merlin laughed. She was leaning against a pillar not too far from Arthur so that she was in a position where she would be able to use her magic should the need arise. Dagr glared at Merlin, causing her to quickly look away and pretend that she had not said anything.
Dagr whistled and a group of men, likely fellow bandits, strutted into the tavern, looking extremely tough and menacing. "You just had to open your big mouth, didn't you, Merlin?" Arthur said with an exasperated tone. Merlin shrugged.
"You two have gotten yourselves into quite the pickle, haven't you?" A young man, perhaps in his late twenties, noted.
"You should probably get out of here while you still have the chance," Arthur told him.
"You're probably right," he said, taking a swig of his drink, "but this is more fun." He handed the mug to Dagr. Dagr took it, but then looked down at it confused. He took that opportunity to punch the other man square in the face. Of course, this led to one of the wildest bar fights in all of medieval history.
Unfortunately, the brawl was so epic that it is unable to be accurately recorded. Nonetheless, the author shall try her best.
The first man to go was one of the skinnier bandits. He was thrown out the door. Literally. Once he was out of the way, the young man punched another bandit in the gut repeatedly until he passed out. Many other people in the tavern joined the fight simply for the sake of fighting.
Merlin stayed on the side for the most part, but eventually began weaving through the crowd, using her magic to throw things such as benches at the bandits.
On the other side of the room, Arthur charged at Dagr, smashing him into a wall. Dagr retaliated by punching Arthur repeatedly in his princely face. Then, Dagr threw Arthur against a table and raised his fist to punch Arthur again. Punching was probably all that the poor man knew how to do.
"Arthur!" Merlin cried as she made her way over to her master.
This caught Arthur's attention and he turned his head towards her. "Merlin! Behind you!"
Merlin looked where Arthur was looking and saw a bench being thrown at her. She quickly dodged it and ran to the bar. Arthur jabbed Dagr in the shoulder, causing the man to grunt and fall to the ground.
With a golden glow in her eyes, Merlin sent a stack of plates flying one by one at the bandits. The man groaned but did not fall unconscious, so Merlin smashed a clay jug against his head. Somehow, the man remained awake. Mary followed Merlin's example and smashed a pot against the large man's head. Merlin sent the other woman a grateful look. Mary nodded and then ran back to her hiding spot. Merlin sent another stack of plates flying at yet another bandit, who was knocked off balance and hit his head against the floor.
The young man from earlier ran towards the bar and banged a bandit's head against it's surface. "Pass the jug, will you?" He said to Merlin. Merlin did so. The young man took a long drink of it, then smashed it in a bandit's face. "Such a waste, eh? So what do they call you?"
"Merlin."
"Gwaine," he introduced. "A pleasure to meet you." With that, Gwaine ran back into the fight.
The brawl continued for another few minutes, until the only men who remained standing were Arthur, Gwaine and Dagr. Dagr threw Arthur against a pillar, causing him to hit his head. Then he pulled out his knife and began walking over to Arthur. Gwaine saw this and lunged at Dagr. Gwaine was able to knock him out, but not without getting stabbed in the lower thigh. The pain and rapid blood loss caused the young man to fall unconscious and hit his head against one of the few remaining benches.
-
After taking care of Dagr, Arthur and Merlin brought Gwaine back to Camelot as quickly as possible so he could be treated by Gaius, who promised that Gwaine should be awake by morning.
Merlin poked her head into the room that Gwaine was staying in. He was awake and slightly confuzzled. "What am I doing here?"
Merlin entered, holding a breakfast tray. "You were wounded. Arthur wanted to make sure you were treated by his physician. You saved his life."
"Arthur? Prince Arthur?"
"Yes."
"Well if I had known that, I probably wouldn't have done it."
"Why not?"
"He's a noble."
"He's a good man."
Gwaine snorted. "If you say so."
"The king wants to thank you in person."
"I'm not interested. Once you've met one king, you've met them all."
"He'll probably give you an award... Then again, when I saved Arthur's life, my 'reward' was to be his maidservant, so perhaps it's for the better..."
"Exactly."
"Well, here's your breakfast, and once your finished, Gaius said that it would do you good to walk around and get some fresh air."
"Really? And perhaps you would accompany me?"
Merlin raised an eyebrow, something she had picked up from Gaius. "I have a few hours before I need to tend to Arthur, so I suppose I could come."
-
Merlin and Gwaine walked through the street of the marketplace. "Yesterday is a bit of a blur. Remind me what your name is?" Gwaine said.
"Merlin."
"Merlin? No, no, that can't possibly be your name."
Merlin rolled her eyes. "It's not the name I was born with, it's just the name that I go by."
"Of course! After all, Merlin is not the name of a princess, and you look like a princess to me." A light blush made itself known on Merlin's pale cheeks. "Your name must be something like Sophia, or... or Esmerelda. That's it. Princess Esmerelda." Gwaine took Merlin's hand, spun her around and bowed at her.
"Stop it," she hissed. "People are staring."
Gwaine looked up. "Not until you tell me your real name."
"I'd really rather not."
"I will serenade you."
Merlin huffed. "Fine, but you can't tell anyone. Not even Arthur knows."
"It stays between us."
"I'm serious, Gwaine. You can't tell anyone. No one."
"I swear on my life."
"Cassandra." (A/N: My brother picked it out. I think it's pretty, what do you think?)
As promised, Gwaine stood up. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"
"It actually was very hard. I never tell people my name."
"Care to share why?"
"No. In fact, I better get going before Arthur gets agitated. I'll see you later, Gwaine."
-
"You're on time for once, Merlin," Arthur noted.
"I'm hardly ever late, Arthur."
Arthur simply raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ignored the comment. "Well, you'll be glad to know that I volunteered you to tend to one of my old friends, Sir Oswald. You are to tidy up his chambers once you finish with mine."
Merlin groaned.
-
Merlin later found herself cleaning up Oswald and his buddy Ethan's chambers. The two men had been there when she entered, but then left to tend to some business. Once finished, she wandered over to the table in the center of the room where there were two swords wrapped in a white cloth. She picked up one of the swords and put her hand on the blade, only to quickly jerk it away. It cut her! Merlin examined the blade. That could not be right. Those blades were to be used at the melee, meaning that they were supposed to be blunt. The blades appeared blunt. Before Merlin could do any further examinations, Oswald and Ethan reentered the room.
"What are you doing, girl?" Oswald snarled.
"Wha- I was just tidying."
"Keep away from things that don't concern you."
Without a word, Merlin took the dirty plates from the table and left.
Later, Merlin sat at Gaius' patient table as he wrapped her finger in a bandage. "To the eye, they appeared blunt, but when I touched it..." Merlin winced at the memory.
"You were lucky," Gwaine told her. "I've seen those blades in action. They're forged using sorcery."
"What would they want with such a blade?" Gaius wondered.
"I think they mean to kill Arthur in the melee," Merlin said.
"But in front of all those people?"
"It would be the perfect cover. If they succeed, nobody will suspect it was intentional," Gwaine realized.
Merlin stood up. "I need to tell Arthur!"
"Merlin, Sir Oswald comes from a well respected family. You can't accuse him without proof."
"Then we need the blade."
"I'll get it," Gwaine volunteered.
Merlin shook her head. "And if they catch you? What reason would you have to be in Sir Oswald's chambers? No. I'll do it. It's safer that way."
-
Merlin crept through Oswald and Ethan's chambers. She slowly opened the trunk to retrieve the swords, when something caught her eye. There was a crystal around Oswald's neck, and it radiated with power. Merlin walked over to the bed and reached out to grab the crystal, but Oswald woke up and grabbed her hand.
Within a few seconds, Merlin found herself pinned up against the wardrobe with Oswald and Ethan throwing daggers at her. "I was just rearranging the bedclothes!" Merlin told them.
Oswald threw a dagger, which landed just above her head. "You hear that Sir Ethan? I guess she's not the sniveling thief we thought she was."
"Oh well," Ethan laughed.
Fresh out of daggers, Oswald pulled out his sword and began charging towards Merlin. She quickly dodged it, but there was not much space for her to move around. Luckily, Oswald's attacks were interrupted by Gwaine walking into the room.
"Is there a problem here?" Gwaine asked.
"No," Ethan growled. "Now leave."
"You alright, Merlin?"
Merlin shook her head and mouthed 'no.'
"I thought he told you to leave," Oswald snarled.
"I wasn't talking to you," was Gwaine's cheeky reply.
"How dare you speak to a knight like that!" Ethan and Oswald simultaneously lunged at Gwaine, who wasted no time in disarming them both.
Just then, Sir Leon decided to make an appearance. "What is going on?" Leon demanded.
"That man attacked me!" Oswald said, pointing to Gwaine.
-
"It's not Sir Oswald," Merlin whispered to Gaius as they walked to the council chambers. "I believe it's the thug, Dagr, from the tavern. The crystal is changing his appearance."
"Sire, this man attacked me, with a sword, and tried to kill me," Oswald, or rather, Dagr, told Uther.
"Is this true?" Uther asked.
"I stepped in to protect C- Merlin," Gwaine said.
"I tried to talk some sense into him, but he was like a madman. I'm sure Sir Ethan will back me up."
"Indeed I can," Ethan said, stepping forward.
"He's a liar!" Gwaine spat.
"How dare you speak to a knight that way!" Uther bellowed.
"Nobility is defined by what you do, not who you are. And these men are anything but. They're arrogant thugs!"
"Gwaine," Arthur warned.
"For a commoner to attack a knight is in violation of the code," Uther decided.
"I couldn't agree with you more, sire," Dagr said. "And nothing would give me greater satisfaction than his execution."
"Sir Oswald, please," Arthur said. "Father I understand how this must look, but Gwaine is my guest. He may not be of noble birth, but I can vouch that he has a noble heart."
"How can you say that when you see how he behaves?"
"He's a good man. If a knight's word is his bond, then I give you my word. He deserves clemency."
"Fine." Uther turned to Gwaine. "You are hereby banished from Camelot. If you return, you will pay for it with your life. You have until dawn to leave the city."
-
Merlin watched as Gwaine packed his belongings. "I'm sorry," she said.
"Don't be," he replied. "I never stay in one place for very long. People get sick of me too quickly."
"I didn't."
Gwaine smiled fondly at that, but then turned serious. "Make sure you look after Arthur. He's in danger."
"I thought you hated nobles?"
"Yeah, well... maybe this one's worth dying for, eh?" Gwaine swung his bag over his shoulder. "You take care of yourself too, Cassie. You here?"
Merlin shook her head at the name and then pulled him into a tight hug. "You too, Gwaine."
Gwaine hugged her back for a moment, but then drew away. He seemed to consider something briefly. Then, he kissed her on the cheek and left.
Merlin watched him until he disappeared into the night. Once he was out of her sight, she turned to Gaius. "I don't know what to do."
"Perhaps I could try and persuade Arthur to withdraw from the contest," Gaius persuaded.
"He won't. I know Arthur. I'll have to do somehow.... use my powers to protect him."
"With the king there?"
"I don't have a choice."
-
"You know those moments when I tell you something isn't a good idea?" Merlin said.
"And then I ignore you, yeah," Arthur replied.
"And then I'm proved right?"
"Merlin, your concern for my well-being is touching."
"I'm serious. I think you should withdraw."
"Look, I know you think that the melee is some stupid game, but it's more than that. It's about proving to the people that I'm fit to lead them."
Merlin sighed, defeated. "I know." She handed Arthur his dull sword. "Just be careful."
-
The melee was going fine, until Arthur was pulled off of his horse by one Sir Ethan. Once Arthur was on the ground, the man raised his blade to kill Arthur, but Arthur was able to roll away just in time. Ethan and Arthur engaged in combat, their swords clashing against each other. Sir Oswald, or rather, Dagr, who was still on his horse, charged at Arthur. Merlin used her magic to break the saddle, causing Dagr to fall to the ground.
Now it was Dagr and the man pretending to be Sir Ethan, against Arthur. At least, it was until another knight ran onto the field with his sword drawn.
"Who is that helping Arthur?" Merlin wondered out loud.
"I don't know, but we should be thankful he it."
Merlin watched as the unknown knight used a special maneuver to disarm Ethan and catch his sword. Merlin grinned. She knew only one man who could do that. Gwaine.
Gwaine stabbed Ethan, earning a gasp from the crowd as the seemingly blunt blade pierced the chain-mail. At the same time, Dagr knocked Arthur to the ground and went for the kill. Moving fast, Gwaine blocked the attack and then killed Dagr.
Arthur and Gwaine stood up and faced each other. "They'll expect us to end the fight now," Arthur said, removing his helmet. "You fought bravely. The field is yours." Gwaine stuck the swords he was holding in the ground and lifted the visor of his helmet. "I should have known. No one fights like you do."
Gwaine removed the helmet. Arthur extended a hand to shake and Gwaine took it. Then, he faced the King's box, cauing Uther to take in a breath of shock. "Guards!" Uther yelled. "Seize him!"
-
In the medical tent, Gaius, Uther, Arthur and Merlin stood over the bodies of Dagr and his buddy. "Is there nothing you can do for them?" Uther asked.
"I'm sorry. It's too late for them," Gaius said,
"The prisoner is responsible for their deaths. I want him executed immediately," Uther ordered, completely ignoring the fact that they tried on several occasions in the melee alone to kill Arthur.
"You may want to wait before you pass judgement, Sire. I fear that, Sir Ethan and Sir Oswald-" Gaius paused to remove the crystals from their necks, causing them to transform back into Dagr and one of his men by the name of Ebor- "are not all that they seem."
"Sorcery," Uther hissed.
"And once again, I owe Gwaine my life," Arthur said.
-
Gwaine was released from prison, but Uther, being a stubborn man, refused to lift the banishment. "I'm sorry, Gwaine," Arthur told him. "If it were up to me..."
"I know. You don't have to explain yourself."
"You have until sunset."
"I'm already packed."
-
Merlin walked with Gwaine to the city gates. "Where will you go?" She asked.
"I was thinking... Mercia."
"It's dangerous."
"Ale is cheaper."
"Why don't you tell them of your heritage? The king would grant you a pardon and you could stay?" Earlier, Gwaine had told Merlin of how is father had been a knight.
"I could never serve under a man like Uther."
"You helped Arthur," Merlin pointed out.
"He is indeed a true noble man."
"Then why don't you stay? You could be a knight, like your father. You and Arthur fought well together."
Gwaine sighed. "Perhaps one day... But never under Uther's reign."
Merlin's shoulders slumped. "Alright. I understand." Standing on her toes, Merlin kissed Gwaine on the cheek. "Thank you. For everything."
Gwaine bowed to her and kissed her hand. "Anytime, Princess Cassandra."
"Please don't call me that."
Gwaine winked at her and turned towards Mercia to resume his wanderings.
This... was much longer than usual... Let me know what you think of Merlin's real name, and tell me if you have any ideas for a better one. I'm always open for suggestions! Thanks!
Also, just letting y'all know that I'm working on a new cover for this story.