The year: 911
[Arthur's coming of age ceremony]

Camelot,
Albion

[Merlin's POV]

"Merlin! Where is Merlin?"

I watched Arthur roam the great hall calling my name, bumping into tables, chairs, and guests without favoring anyone in particular. 

Not wanting to do anything for that rascal, I ignored his calls and sunk into a corner. 

Waking up a sleep-deprived person in the middle of the night just so he could make plans to go hunting because he had a good feeling about it was not the kind of behavior expected from a soon-to-be crown prince, was it!?

Absolutely not.

"MEEEERLIN!"

Snorting at his drunken antics, I looked at the future king...no, not just king, the-once-and-future-king of Camelot: the man I was born to serve.

"Psst! Merlin," The blunt nail poking me in my side pulled me out of my thoughts. It was Guinevere, Guin for short. She was Morgana's handmaid and best friend. 

Massaging my side- for Guin was stronger than she looked, and her nails could, in my humble opinion, dig holes through walls- I followed her out. 

We made our way past all of Arthur's subjects, who revered me as a court jester instead of his advisor and arrived at the kitchen, where their judging eyes were no longer on my back.

When I turned sixteen, my mother took me to meet Atherol the 4th, the king of Willsden. 

After a brief talk, the old king accepted me into his home and announced to his kingdom that I was his illegitimate son. His wife was long dead, and his oldest son was already initiated as the crown prince. Once Atherol had made it clear that I would not be part of the succession, the prince hadn't bothered raising objections to my inclusion in his family. 

Barely a few months into my new lifestyle, which wasn't very different- except for better food and warmer clothes- from my life with my mother, I had accompanied my father and older brother to Camelot, where in an unexpected turn of events, I had ended up saving the then thirteen-year-old prince's life.

Needless to say, Uther was grateful.

Talisen, the old physician, had murmured something in the king's ears, after which Uther had met with Atherol privately. Shortly after the meeting, I was handed over to Uther. 

"I am glad you see my illegitimate son worthy of being Arthur's companion." The king of Willsden had said and gone about praising Uther in a speech that seemed to last decades. He had ended it by raising a toast to Uther's long and prosperous reign amidst fake smiles and muffled yawns. 

That night while the palace slept, I heard the deep throaty voice of Akurra, the possibly last of its kind ancient creature, from under my cot for the very first time. Coincidentally, the path that opened right at the mouth of the cave that the serpent-like dragon called his home lay conveniently hidden behind the bookshelf in the chamber, which would be mine for years as I assisted Arthur in stately matters.

"Merlin, we are in trouble. Morgana is missing." Guin informed me after ordering the kitchen help to leave for a few. 

Taking off my ridiculous-looking feathered hat, I asked her to give me the details. As always, Guin was quite forthcoming. I wasn't surprised; after all, the girl cared about Morgana's well-being more than her own.  

From what she had said, I gathered that Morgana had been approached by a little girl on the streets while out on an evening stroll. The girl had recognized Morgana as Uther's ward and begged for her father's life, which Uther had planned to execute the day after Arthur's coming-of-age ceremony, aka tomorrow. 

Despite knowing the consequences, Morgana had slipped out of the palace; taking advantage of the guards' high spirits, she freed the accused. Unfortunately, the man, who blamed Uther for his troubles, had taken Morgana hostage instead of being grateful to her.

"How do you know Morgana didn't go with him willingly?" I asked Guin, who was ready with my answer in her hands. 

"A message?"

Guin nodded, "I found it when I went to look for Morgana in the prison where the accused was held." 

A triskelion. I instantly recognized the symbol on the bottom corner of the otherwise blank parchment. It seemed that so did Guin. Morgana was in big trouble if the man had connections with this sect of druids. 

"If Uther finds out that she snuck out of the palace just to save someone accused of practicing magic, only to be taken hostage..." Guin trailed off with tears filling her chocolate brown eyes. Wiping them as they slid down her cheek, she asked, "Merlin, what should we do?"

We needed to keep Uther from discovering that Morgana was not at the ceremony and to accomplish that, I would have to use magic, just under Uther's magic-hating nose. 

The only problem was that no one knew I was a sorcerer. I was on my own. That didn't mean that my existence was a secret, far from it. In Camelot and the neighboring kingdoms, I was infamous as Emrys, my alter ego. Of course, Emrys looked nothing like me. 

Where I was a jolly, respectful, rule-abiding young man, Emrys, the wicked sorcerer, was a middle-aged bloke with salt pepper hair who walked- and ran- with a limp. He had an ugly scar running down the side of his face from temple to jaw, making him look positively terrifying. 

It was again time for Emrys to make an appearance, I reckoned. "Guin, go to Arthur and tell him I am done putting up with his inconsiderate and unreasonable demands and have left Camelot."

Guin's brows crawled up and disappeared into her thick brown curls pinned in a nice little bun at the nape of her neck.

"Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt Morgana," I reassured her, but she didn't look convinced. Nonetheless, she did as she was told.

As expected, Arthur left the castle immediately without intimating Uther. When he had put a reasonable distance between himself and Camelot, I ambushed him.

Throwing a rag over his head and binding his limbs, I declared, "I, Emrys, am taking you captive for reasons known only to me. Cooperate, and I won't inconvenience you more than I need to."

"Let go of me, you despicable ugly man!"

"Ugly!?! Excuse me!?" Arthur had a way of getting on my nerves. I knew that if I let his mouth run off with him, I would really want to hurt him, which I wouldn't, of course, but even if I did, I wouldn't be breaking character, would I? I was Emrys, after all. The number one enemy of the Pendragons. I had earned the title by helping- in secret, of course- every innocent life I could from Uther's ruthless hands after being appointed in the capacity of Arthur's companion. Losing his beloved wife, Queen Igraine, Arthur's mother, made Uther lose his humanity and sanity. Thus, for the most part, Arthur had grown up alone, at least before I was placed by his side.  

A kick in the shins brought me back to the present rather rudely. Only Arthur could make me dislike him just when I was about to start pitying him. 

"Yes, ugly," His Royalness affirmed. "If my father hears about this-"

I was done listening to the pompous ass; snapping my fingers, I muttered. "Goodbye, my lord. Sleep well." As the six-foot-tall, muscular body fell forward, I caught him in my arms, loaded him on a cartwheel, and ventured deeper into the forest. 

"Aahola!" I muttered under my breath with my palm facing the ancient elm tree. A moment later, the bark split right in the middle. Like curtains being pulled open, it revealed a hideout. Dragging Arthur inside, I made him comfortable- as comfortable as his princely arse could feel- with just an inch of thick layer of hay keeping it from the cold hard floor.

Keeping my Emrys disguise on, I pulled out an embroidered lace from the front of my robes. Laying it on the table, I slit my finger and let a drop of blood fall over the silk fabric, and hissed, "Livinako-esat!" 

Images- both familiar and unfamiliar- fled across my mind's eyes. It was the path that would lead me to Morgana, but before I could locate the lady, my vision was blocked. The last thing I saw before the spell wore off was a worn-out flag with a triskelion drawn on it with red ink.

The spell confirmed my earlier suspicions. Morgana was probably being held and tortured in some hidden druid settlement that had pledged its loyalty to Velsa, a violent group of magic users who hated Uther. It was no surprise then that they had kidnapped Morgana, who they considered part of the royal family.

If the rumors were to be believed, once a settlement pledged its loyalty to Velsa, only those with magic in their blood could set foot on the land. 

Shortly after arriving at Camelot, Sir Taliesen discovered my love for medicine and took me under his wing. After all, the man was pushing eighty and still hadn't found his successor: the one who could replace him as the royal healer. I was his best bet. 

During one of our sessions, he had mentioned how when Uther ravaged the lands trying to rid Camelot of magic years ago, the druids of Velsa almost completely escaped persecution and execution. Intrigued, I investigated the matter and arrived at the same conclusion: one needed to have magic in their blood to enter Velsa-claimed lands. And that's precisely why Morgana being held prisoner on Velsa's land did not make sense. The woman didn't have a lick of magic in her blood, so how had she been escorted in? 

Stepping out and sealing the entrance to keep Arthur safe, I mounted Gust, Arthur's stallion. Unlike its master, it recognized me at once and cooperated with me to help me get to the druid settlement. 

As I rode towards my destination, my thoughts returned to Morgana, who I had found out recently, was Arthur's half-sister. Her mother was Uther's best friend, King Gorlois's wife, Vivienne. After the death of her parents, Uther, who was childless at the time, adopted Morgana. At least, that's what Sir Taliesen had told me.

Morgana had grown up as Uther's ward. It pained me that she was still unaware of the truth; she was just as beautiful on the inside as on the outside, and in many ways, she was more mature than Arthur, whom Uther had spoiled. It was a different matter that the brat had changed for the better in my company over the past few years.

An hour or so later, I found myself staring at the hidden entrance of the Velsa settlement. Securing Gust to a pine tree and placing a concealment charm all around the horse, I walked towards the rock and offered my blood to the innocent-looking thing that I am sure had already consumed enough blood to fill Arthur's bathtub. I watched my blood shimmer over the rock's surface before sinking into it, leaving it looking like before: innocent. 

The vines covering the face of the mound disappeared, revealing a door. I stepped inside carefully. It led me to another one exactly like the one I had left behind. Luckily, there was no rock at its mouth, innocent or otherwise, and all I had to do was push it open and enter the...market!?

The moon was hidden, and the huts sprinkled over the clearing were nothing like anything I had seen before; their red roofs and purple walls glimmered even without the moon to help them, and even this late, the streets were full of stalls selling everything from ale to rat tails, so much so, that for a moment, even I was tempted to abandon my mission and embark on a shopping spree.

The good thing about crowds was that one could blend in easily. Many were dressed almost exactly like me, but most walked like they owed something to the world they lived in or a debt yet to be paid. A few ancient residents nodded at me, making me feel right at home.

Merlin, you are here for Morgana, I reprimanded myself. 

I scanned the crowd for suspicious activity and soon found a lad that fit the bill. 

Scouting the area, I happened upon a curious-looking stall at the end of the street. From the looks of it, it didn't want to entertain customers. Even the souls who did venture there by chance were shooed away by the grumpy graying man standing guard at its entrance.

Sneaking behind one of the stalls, I hid myself under my invisibility cloak. It was the only useful thing my father had left me.

I waited near the stall for a few minutes before slipping inside without being noticed. 

The scene I came face to face with shocked and angered me.

In a messy corner, I found Morgana. With her evening gown in tatters, bruises marring her delicate, flawless features, she was slumped against a pole, unconscious. 

What kind of sick bastard would do that to someone? Especially to one who was merely trying to keep them from sure death!?

I used my most convenient trick. I created a distraction and escaped unnoticed while everyone was busy finding the source of the commotion.

No one would know that Morgana was gone before it was too late.

As we left the druid settlement, Morgana opened her eyes and glimpsed my face. Her eyes widened in fear, but before she could scream, I snapped my fingers and stole her consciousness. 

Emrys had served my cause yet again. I glanced at the lady in my arms and left a breath I didn't know I was holding. Apart from the superficial injuries, she seemed fine. Thank heavens.

With Morgana by my side, I rushed back to Camelot, where Uther, hearing that Emrys had captured Arthur, had ridden out to rescue his son.

Needless to say, the party was over.

I took my disguise off and carried Morgana to her chamber, where I found Guin waiting for her mistress's return. 

"My lady!" Guin was by her side not a moment later. "Merlin, how in the world did you rescue her!?" She demanded, helping me lay her mistress on her bed. 

"I found her like this on the outskirts of the kingdom," I lied. "I guess she was too heavy for that frail man to carry." 

Guin blinked and tilted her head to her right, fixing me with a curious gaze. "That doesn't sound-"

Making it seem like I hadn't heard her, I turned heel and yelled, "She looks like she rolled around in the dirt, Guin. Knowing her, I think it will piss her off to think I saw her looking like that." I looked over my shoulder and added, "Let's keep this a secret, shall we?"

I didn't wait for her to reply. Trusting Guin to take care of the matter, I rushed to where I had hidden Arthur and rescued him from Emrys, the ugly, and brought him back safe and sound before the rescue party could. 

"Merlin, where were you the whole night?" The brat demanded as soon as he tucked himself into bed. I could feel his suspicious eyes digging a hole in the back of my head.

Placing the bowl of water where his lazy ass could reach it, I casually replied, "I kidnapped you and rescued Morgana from a hidden druid village." 

Arthur huffed; burying himself under the quilt, he bit out, "I am sure you were chasing skirts all night long, you ungrateful grit!"

I shrugged and left the man alone, concluding that sometimes, the truth was more unbelievable than a hundred lies.