Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Our story began the day the Queen of Camelot, Queen Ygraine, with her last few, gave birth to a golden-haired son and heir to the throne, Arthur Pendragon. She had moments to hold her beloved and hard-borne son before the Old Religion demanded the price for the magic used to bring this precious life to the world.

“A life for a life,” was the law of the Old Religion as the High Priestess Nimueh had said.

And for the barren Queen to give Camelot an heir, the price was her own life. She had agreed to the use of magic only after knowing exactly what her husband had gotten them into.

In her last moments, Queen Ygraine had eyes only for her son, Arthur. Her last words were to her son, filled with love, encouragement and hope for a bright and blessed future for him and his loved ones.

The Once and Future King they called him; the child that would one day grow to be the man who would unite all lands and bring the rise of Albion, into a Golden Age to be remembered for millennia.

Blinded by his grief and hatred, King Uther Pendragon of Camelot declared war on magic and all those who practised it. Fear, bloodshed and darkness fell over the lands. People lived in fear of their lives, magical or not. No one was to be trusted, for neighbours were quick to betray neighbours just for the sake of coin or recognition.

The Great Purge, they called it. Everyone suffered. Those who used magic and believed in the Old Religion lost their lives and those who had family members who did so lost their loved ones. Several innocents lost their lives just because they were under the shadow of suspicion from their neighbours and old friends.

The Priestesses and Priests of the Old Religion were hunted down and slaughtered. All magic users, from healers to knights were executed or burned at the stake. Druids’ camps were found and each and every one of them was slaughtered, adult or child. Magical artefacts and weapons were hunted and raided for to either be destroyed or stored in the vaults of Camelot under heavy protection. Dragonlords were forced to summon their dragons only to watch them be killed and then eventually have their own heads cut off.

It was the last and greatest of all Dragonlords who was summoned by King Uther under the pretence of making peace; Balinor was his name. After watching the last of his kin, the Great Dragon Kilgarrah, being chained and imprisoned in the caves deep beneath the citadel, Balinor took the help of an old friend and advisor to escape to a small village in Essetir.

There in Ealdor, Balinor met the love of his life, Hunith. Their love was a deep but short one. Just another year and Uther’s men hunted him across the borders of Camelot and Essetir, just to watch him burn. He had no other choice; he left. Not knowing he was leaving behind not just his love, but also the physical manifestation of said love growing in Hunith’s womb right at that moment.

The next important event of our story happened just months before Balinor was hunted down in Ealdor and a year and a half after the Great Purge had begun. Back in Camelot, a Knight’s wife, and another’s daughter, was giving birth.

The Lady Lillian, daughter of Sir Charlus of Dunbar, and wife Sir Gerard of Monmouth, was giving birth to her second child. Sir Charlus was one of the richest and favoured Knights of King Uther and Sir Gerard was the son of Sir Geoffrey of Monmouth, the librarian and scholar of Camelot. Hence, the fact that Lady Lillian was giving birth to the eldest child of Sir Gerard and the heir of his noble house, was great and well-received news.

It was in the early hours of a spring morning when the second key player of the destiny of Camelot and our story was brought into the world. Lady Lillian gave birth to a screaming and brown-haired girl who was named, Camellia. The Lady Camellia was the eldest daughter of Sir Gerard and Lady Lillian of Houses Monmouth and Dunbar, respectively, the heiress to both Houses.

Enid they called her; the girl who would grow into the beautiful woman that would be the life and spirit of Camelot and with who the Once and Future King would bring prosperity and happiness to Camelot and then the whole of Albion.

Several months later, in the village of Ealdor, Hunith experienced her first labour pains. This was the one last event that would trigger the course of destiny to change. Hours of painful labour later, with the help of the local midwife, Hunith gave birth to a son. He was the son of the last Dragonlord Balinor. His birth brought with him the uncertainty of the future for some, but a hope and a promise of a bright and magical future to many others.

Emrys they called him; the babe who would one day grow to become the most powerful warlock of all times and aid the Once and Future King to fulfil his destiny and bring peace and unity to Albion.

And so it was, over the next years as these three young children grew in different backgrounds and around different kinds of people to become the individuals who would bring about the rise and unity of Albion under one banner.

Arthur Pendragon grew under the strict and harsh edict of his father, but with a far more compassionate and noble heart. Merlin grew with his mother as a humble and poor peasant trying his best to hide his magic, but with the desire to seek something more as he knew in his heart like his mother that his powers were not for nothing. And Camellia grew up as the only child with her loving and caring mother and father in an estate not far from the city, with a huge, gentle heart and a desire to learn and know as much as she could from books.

Years passed, and then a six-year-old Camellia saw as her mother was executed for being found trading medicine with a Druid woman. She saw as her father drank himself to death over the grief of losing his wife, somehow managing to ignore the existence of the only living connection he had with his Lillian: his daughter.

Just two months after losing her mother, a young and orphaned Camellia stood beside her grandfather as her father was given a Knight’s funeral. She cried for a day before she stood straight and composed in front of the King as he told her that he was offering her a chance to live in the castle with her only living family, Sir Geoffrey, her grandfather. She agreed politely and demurely before being assigned a maid, Brianna, and being shown to her new chambers.

Camellia soon discovered that her maid was actually a Druid girl. Having been taught by her mother from an incredibly young age to never judge a person based on their appearance or kind, she easily embraced the fact and simply looked forward to all she could learn about magic and the Old Religion from her. Her slight happiness did not last long. Uther discovered Brianna’s heritage when Camellia was eleven and had her executed within the day.

Years passed on and Camellia grew up amongst books and tomes in the library of Camelot. The people and members of the court knew her but once she was out of sight, she was out of mind. She strived to become the “smartest woman on the world” and to do that she knew she had to spend as much time as she could studying rather than socializing. She had very few friends, but they were very dear to her. She studied about anything that caught her fancy, from human anatomy to plants, and from kinds of animals to different branches of magic.

As time went on, Camellia grew to be one of the most graceful ladies of the court. Though her beauty was not one to rival the Lady Morgana, she had a charm about her that endeared people to her along with her smile and sweet disposition. Her equal treatment of every person she came across, noble or peasant, made her one of the popular nobles amongst the servants and peasants in the lower town.

And then came the day that would turn her monotonous life upside down. Lost became the days of peaceful and blissful ignorance when she could spend her days with reading her books and writing in her journals. The day had come out of nowhere and with no warning when she would be forced to acknowledge the reality that she couldn’t possibly spend her life ignoring the world outside the library and her chambers.

The Lady Camellia didn’t know it yet, but she was in for an adventure of a lifetime and destiny had something extremely special in store for her. After all, she wasn’t named Enid by the Old Religion for no reason.

No person, no matter how great can know their destiny. They cannot glimpse their part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, they must live and learn.

And so it was for the young warlock arriving at the gates of Camelot; a boy that will turn Camellia’s world upside down and inside out, and in time, father a legend. His name: Merlin.

Chapter Text

It was a beautiful afternoon. The sun was shining brightly with nary a cloud in the sky, and the birds were singing as they went about trying to finish their work before the sunset; a seemingly perfect day which could not be ruined by anything or anyone.

Though it wouldn't be the first time when an execution would mar the beauty and lightness of such a day in Camelot. It was for this very reason that the Lady Camellia could be found in the Court Physician's chambers, writing in her journal, rather than in her own chambers. It was an untold tradition that whenever an execution would take place, the young healer-in-training would be found in Gaius's chambers. And it had nothing to do with the supposed comfort she could get from this room or the person they belonged to, but because the windows in her chambers looked straight into the courtyard where another innocent was being executed.

As it was, the man being executed today was named Thomas James Collins who had been caught practising magic. He had been doing nothing but trying to heal his cow which was the only means of income for him and his mother. Unfortunately for him, a knight had watched him do so, which had sealed his fate. And now, a day after his arrest, he was going to breathe his last and have his head severed off of his shoulders. Amongst all of this, the only thing Camellia could think about was the poor mother who would lose her only son and family.

Camellia wouldn't wish such fate on anyone.

The sound of papers turning snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up from her journal to see Gaius standing in the balcony flipping through one of his healing books. She shook her head at the stubborn man; she had told him that it was too dangerous for him to climb in such places where the risk of falling was high, but he wouldn't listen.

She was quite used to the old physician's stubbornness and his stern attitude with all the people younger than him. She had been apprenticing under him to become a fully trained healer since the age of fifteen. It had taken a while to persuade her grandfather, but Gaius and she had combined their efforts to get Sir Geoffrey of Monmouth to consent his granddaughter apprenticing with the Court Physician. Once his two closest advisors suggested so, it did not take the King long to permit Camellia to study medicine and healing, even though he was of the opinion that women had no use in studying anything other than their basic education.

Just as she was about to go down the memory lane, a knock sounded from the door. She turned her attention to it, but Gaius was still engrossed in whatever it was he was reading. A head pocked in through the gap in the door and looked around, not spotting her since she was hidden behind a stack of human anatomy books she had been studying not long ago.

"Hello?" the boy's voice called out before he pushed the door open completely and simply barged in.

Camellia was amused at the boy's clearly lacking manners and simply observed, waiting for him to notice her and Gaius to notice their visitor. The boy was tall, thin and gangly, with raven black hair and a pale complexion. He had large ears, she noticed, and some unremarkable clothes telling her that he was a simple peasant.

The boy looked at all the equipment, ingredients and books spread around in organised chaos around the chambers while still calling out, "Hello?"

Camellia decided to put the boy out of his misery and stood up to ask him what he needed. Just as she stood, he noticed Gaius in the balcony above.

"Gaius?" he called before clearing his throat loudly.

That caught Gaius' attention and made him look down. Unfortunately, it wasn't the right move to make since his leaning back caused the railing to give away beneath his weight. Camellia gasped in fright as the old man stumbled and fell off the weak wooden structure, frozen in her place as she watched everything happen as if in slow motion.

However, she soon noticed that everything really was in slow motion, but the boy and her. She watched in undisguised awe and fascination as the boy's blue eyes glowed golden before the cot at the side of room reserved for patients moved on its own and stopped right beneath the frozen in mid-air Physician. And then time resumed moving at its regular pace and Gaius' fall was broken by the cot.

Camellia let out a relieved breath before rushing forward to help the man get off the bed. As the physician caught his breath and stood with his apprentice's help, he huffed out, "What— what did you just do?"

The boy seemed startled at Camellia's sudden appearance and the question, as if just now realising exactly what he had done.

"Uh—" he stuttered.

"Tell me!" Gaius demanded.

Camellia sighed in exasperation as she stepped forward and placed a hand on Gaius's arm before speaking, "Honestly, Gaius, you're scaring the boy!"

She turned to her mentor's saviour and gave him a warm smile, "I'm sorry about him. I am the Lady Camellia, and I thank you for doing what you did."

The boy seemed dazed for a moment as he stared at her before stuttering out, "No, no that-that had nothing to do with-with me." He pointed wildly at the bed. "That was-"

"We know what it was," Gaius interrupted. "I just want to know where you learned how to do it!"

Merlin shook his head quickly. "Nowhere," he replied.

Camellia raised her eyebrow sceptically. Obviously, one had to have received some sort of training to be able to have such control over their magic? Unless…

"So how is it that you know magic?" Gaius asked with equal scepticism.

"I don't!" The boy lied, trying to get out of the unfortunate situation he had found himself in.

"Where did you study?" When the boy didn't answer, Gaius barked, "Tell me!"

Both Camellia and the boy jumped at Gaius' shout. Camellia pitied the boy's plight; he obviously had never been in such a position before, and definitely not with someone as fearsome as an angered Gaius.

"I-I didn't study anywhere; I've never been taught-"

The physician took a step towards the poor boy, making Camellia step forward and place herself slightly between the boy and physician. "Are you lying to me, boy?"

The sorcerer sighed and asked, "What do you want me to say?"

"The truth!" Gaius snapped.

"I was born like this!" the boy replied helplessly and began to look like he would burst into tears any second. Though the answer surprised the young bookworm, she decided it was time to stop Gaius from going any further in trying to scare the boy.

"It's alright," Camellia finally interrupted Gaius' interrogative with a soft yet firm voice and smiled to calm the boy down, "What's your name?"

"I'm Merlin," he answered after a little hesitation.

Gaius raised his eyebrow, "Hunith's son?"

Camellia's eyes widened in recognition of the names. Gaius had mentioned that his niece's son was going to be coming to live with him soon.

"Yes!" Merlin answered with a smile, obviously relieved that his uncle recognised him now.

However Gaius was still not completely satisfied, "But you're not meant to be here until Wednesday!"

Camellia hid a smile as Merlin looked at her with ill-disguised alarm and hesitated before answering, "It is Wednesday…"

Gaius nodded slowly. "Ah," he said.

The physician's apprentice smiled once again at Merlin and spoke, "Well, let me be the first to welcome you to Camelot, Merlin."

"Thank you, my Lady," he replied with a nervous yet goofy smile.

"Right then," Gaius spoke, "You'd better put your bag in there." He pointed to the door behind him and Camellia.

Merlin picked up his bag and walked to the door, only to stop after a few steps and turn back to look at Gaius and Camellia.

"You won't say anything, about the…" he trailed off and waved his hand in the general direction of the broken railing.

A smiling Camellia shook her head and reassured him, "No, you have nothing to worry about on this front. Your secret is safe with both of us, I promise."

The newcomer to Camelot nodded once with a relieved look on his face and began to turn back towards his new room when Gaius' voice stopped him once again.

"Although, Merlin," the Physician called, "I should say thank you."

The boy in question smiled weakly and nodded before heading to his room. And the two people he left behind just stared at his back in wonder. A few moments of silence later, Camellia turned to Gaius.

"Well, it is time for me to return to my chambers now, Gaius," She told him in her soft voice, "Grandfather wished to dine with me today, so I need to get ready. Do you need me to do anything before leaving?"

"No," he shook his head, "You go on, enjoy dinner with your grandfather and get a good night's rest. Tomorrow we will be reviewing the herbs you studied the other day, so rest well and be ready."

"Yes, Gaius, thank you," she smiled and picked up her journal from the table she had been sitting in front of when Merlin had entered, "Good night."

Gaius replied similarly as Camellia closed the door behind her before proceeding to head over to her chambers that were close to the library where her grandfather worked.

A couple of hours later...

Camellia was very tired. Her entire day had not been as stressful as the one hour of sitting at the dinner table with her grandfather was.

It was a wonder she had lasted as long as she had, for there was only so long she could sit silently as her only grandfather and guardian kept berating everything about her, from her quiet and shy demeanour to her lack of suitors.

It was quite fortunate that Camellia had learnt at an early age to mask her emotions from the world, or she would have ended up saying things she might have regretted later. Another ten minutes or so, and she would have actually spoken up. There was only so much energy she could waste in trying to not let his words get to her.

She loved her grandfather very much. He was the only living relative she had left within Camelot. Moreover, she was extremely grateful to him for taking her in and becoming her guardian after the passing of her parents. However, she could never regain the closeness they used to share when her parents had still lived. Their relationship had especially taken a turn for the worst when Brianna had been executed for being a Druid. It was at that moment when she had decided to keep everyone at arms' length, resulting in the further weakening of her bond with her grandfather.

She sighed as she recalled the faded memories she had of her life with her parents and her grandfather when they had lived. She almost did not notice it when she reached the doors to her chambers. She scolded herself for paying so little attention to her surroundings as she opened the door and entered her chambers where her maid Leanna awaited her with a warm bath.

She shook her head to rid herself of the melancholy thoughts and instead endeavoured to look forward to writing in her journal and reviewing herbs for her test with Gaius tomorrow.

The next afternoon...

It was a pleasant morning as Camellia made rounds in the lower town to check on Gaius' patients. This was her reward for passing her test with flying colours. She couldn't stop her lips from rising into a smile as she thought about their deal; whenever Camellia did well in her lessons, Gaius would agree to stay in his chambers while Camellia would make the rounds. She had come up with this deal several months ago when Gaius had refused to stay at the castle despite his hurting knees.

Camellia's mind wandered as she walked from her last patient's home to the citadel. Her wandering thoughts led her to the newest additions to Camelot's population; Lady Helen of Mora and Merlin of Ealdor.

Lady Helen had arrived just last night for her performance at the feast tomorrow evening. She was quite excited about the performance. Though she did not possess a talent for singing further than amusing herself in private moments while in the library or her chambers, she dearly loved listening to musical performances of those with considerably more talent than her.

Especially, Lady Helen who had been a friend of her mother's since they both had been young girls. She had seen the Lady Helen last at her mother's funeral. Though she was sure the singer wouldn't remember her since she had been a young girl of six back then. Maybe she could give her a visit, just in the memory of her dear mother? She should do it sometime tomorrow morning since she had quite a few chores left to do today.

Speaking of chores, she remembered Gaius telling her something about his new ward doing some herb collecting from now on.

As she walked through the marketplace, thinking about chores and Gaius brought her thoughts to the second new resident of Camelot and the citadel: Merlin.

Two days had passed since he had barged into Gaius' chambers and used his magic to save the old physician without a single thought to the possibility of losing his head for doing what he had done. The fact that the young man had no training in magic whatsoever was astounding. She had read about Warlocks who, in contrast to Sorcerers and Sorceresses, were born with magic flowing in their lifeblood. She had heard from several Druids over the years that though they were also born with some magic in their blood, Warlocks had an innate ability to do magic that was impossible to reach by any Druid let alone a regular sorcerer. Nonetheless, knowing of Warlocks was quite different than knowing one.

Merlin proved that the moment she met him. Things had gotten quite interesting since the young warlock's arrival at Camelot. First, he saved Gaius from what would have been a fatal injury, and then, he got into an altercation with the young Prince Arthur Pendragon the very next day.

Thus, he spent his second night in Camelot in the dungeons while his morning was spent being pelted with rotten fruits and vegetables by the children and even some adults of the town.

She had heard it all through Guinevere who had been watching the entire incident through the Lady Morgana's chamber windows. Gwen had specially come to the library to narrate the entire incident to her, verbatim. It tickled her really; the little inkling of admiration and the fledgeling crush the handmaiden had developed for the warlock was quite easy to notice for someone as perceptive as Camelot's resident bookworm.

Camellia still shook her head in amused amazement at the idea of the lanky, but a magically potent young boy standing toe-to-toe against the physically strong but too proud warrior prince. It was a brave but an extremely foolish thing to do for someone who had a secret like magic to hide from the world. She admired Merlin for his noble and brave heart for trying to stand up against the Prince while he was in his more snobbish moods, but she couldn't help but think that Merlin could have tried to handle that with a little more tact.

Just as Camellia had that thought, she heard some yelling from up at the front and looked up to see both the subjects of her thoughts duelling in the middle of the market with maces of all things. Her eyes widened in shock as she saw Merlin barely keeping up with the Prince.

Her surprise hid her amusement well as she watched Merlin using his magic to make the Prince stumble and trip or to trap his mace between the butcher's knives. She shook her head at the recklessness; it would be a miracle if no one saw his eyes flashing golden every time he used magic. She felt more than saw Gaius stepping up next to her to watch the impromptu duel with a disapproving look on his face.

She couldn't help but think that this was going to get worse, and the moment she saw Merlin hesitate at the sight of a stern-faced Gaius watching from the crowd her thoughts were proved right. That moment of distraction was enough for the Prince to stand back up and hit Merlin with a broom. Camellia couldn't quite hide her wince each time Merlin was hit before he fell to the ground.

The fact that the Prince let Merlin go was not as surprising to Camellia as it was to everyone else. She knew that though Merlin intrigued him, the real reason he did not have the boy arrested again was that he recognised a noble and brave heart when he saw one. There was much about this world that was hidden from Camellia, but the real Arthur beneath the conceited and seemingly ignorant prince was not.

Camellia simply watched with a barely perceptible smile as the Prince walked away while Merlin was left standing with as much a bruised body as a bruised ego.

Camellia walked quietly, as she customarily did, after a silently fuming Gaius and a gingerly walking Merlin. She was waiting for the inevitable explosion that would surely be coming once they were within the Physician's chambers. She was proved right, as usual.

"How could you be so foolish?" an irate Gaius yelled as soon he followed Merlin into his chambers.

"He needed to be taught a lesson," Merlin defended himself.

Part of Camellia agreed with him since Arthur really did need to learn how to control his urge to antagonise those around him with false arrogance and conceitedness.

"Magic must be studied, mastered, and used for good! Not for idiotic pranks!" Gaius continued as if Merlin had not even spoken.

Another part of Camellia also agreed with Gaius since Merlin's decision to use Magic in front of so many witnesses for simple pranks was very reckless. She placed her healing kit on one of the tables as she watched Merlin turn to look at Gaius incredulously.

"What is there to master?" he asked, "I could move objects like that before I could talk!"

"Then, by now, you should know how to control yourself," Gaius countered sharply.

The knowledge that he could do such feats as a young babe was astounding. But her amazement died as soon as she heard the next words from Merlin, and her heart broke for the anguish in the boy's voice.

"I don't want to!" Merlin retorted loudly, "If I can't use magic, then what have I got?"

Camellia watched as Gaius' expression changed from angry and stern to confused and sympathetic. Merlin's voice went from loud and defensive to low and pained as he continued to express his pain at the idea of not having magic.

"I'm just a nobody, and I always will be," he continued, "If I can't use magic, I might as well die."

Gaius closed his eyes in anguish as Merlin turned away and ran up into his room, slamming the door behind him. Camellia slowly walked up to Gaius and placed a hand on his arm. He turned to look at her with a slightly lost expression, making her smile in sympathy.

"I'll go talk to him," she said to him, "You bring the salve and draught for the bruises and pain he surely feels after the duel."

Gaius smiled gratefully at her as she patted his arm twice before following Merlin through the doors to his room. She felt guilty that in all her amazement and fascination at Merlin's magic, she had quite forgotten how hard and lonely it was in these days for magic-users to survive.

She opened the door with a sigh and was forced to stifle a smile as she saw him lying face-first on his cot, not even bothering with his shoes. She shook her head fondly. Not even three days in Camelot and the boy was already working his way into her heart like an annoying little brother one couldn't live with or without.

She knew he had heard her come in by the turning away of his head from the doors. She pursed her lips to suppress her amusement at the boy's actions and walked closer to his cot.

"It was an idiotic thing to do, you know," she said to him softly as she sat at the edge of his cot, "Though even I cannot deny how funny it was to watch the Prince's face whenever he stumbled or tripped…"

It was a wonder the boy's neck didn't snap at the speed he turned his head to look at her with wide eyes. All it took was one moment of eye contact and both of them were giggling like little children as they recalled the entire altercation. They had barely gathered their breath when Gaius opened the door and ordered Merlin to sit up and take off his shirt.

Camellia stood up to let Gaius sit down while Merlin sat up and looked up between the older man and her, looking a little lost. She smiled in mild amusement at his shyness and excused herself from the room.

Closing the door behind her, Camellia once again winced in guilt as she remembered the pain in Merlin's voice earlier while defending his actions against the Prince. She resolved to be a friend to the warlock and help him as much as she could in his endeavour in learning proper control over his powers and in finding his destiny.

Resolve made, she nodded to herself before grabbing the medical kit once again and stepping out to continue with her chores of the day. As she walked away from the Physician's chambers, she decided to visit Lady Helen after breaking her fast and joining Lady Morgana and Gwen for lunch before preparing for the feast tomorrow evening.