Chapter Text
It was his first hunting trip, eight summers had passed since his birth and it was time for the young prince to learn the ways of the hunt, or so his father thought.
In reality, as with any child in any era, being still for more than 5 minutes was akin to a most cruel torture.
And if you'd ask the young prince Arthur, the rabbits were far too cute to kill.
The knights-in-training had been tasked with this hunt and while they were kind to the young prince; teaching him basic sword moves and indulging in his questions. They were not apt to deal with an 8 year old's unpredictability.
So really, it should not have come as a surprise when the young prince spotted what could only be described as the most curious frog he'd ever seen. The frog was changing colours, and it let out a silent croak as it made eye contact with the prince before hopping off.
The prince took a look at his father, animatedly telling a story to the knights, who in turn hummed and hawed at the appropriate times. Determining that they were truly distracted, he did what any 8 year old would do. Set off on a quest to solve this most curious mystery.
The frog was bounding off, jumping through folliage and taking turns here and there before making one final leap.
At that leap, Arthur jumped too, catching the amphibian in his hands.
And subsequently tumbling down a somewhat steep hill.
With a "thud" Arthur landed on the soft earth before turning onto his back, vision swimming briefly before clearing up to a sight that sent ice down his veins.
The leaves danced in an unnatural pattern, shifting colours like the glass of far off lands.
This was magic.
And magic was evil.
Arthur scrambled to his feet and looked around wildly, still holding the croaking frog, who had settled into a rather pleasant shade of sky-blue.
His eyes fixed on a figure in the centre of this, admitedly stunning, clearing. A child who most likely hadn't seen as many summers as him, stared back, wide eyed and big eared.
"...why do you have my frog?"
At that, Arthur threw the frog, who lazily landed, croaked and then hopped towards the small pond near the edge of the clearing.
"You're a witch!" Arthur accused.
"Am not! Witches are girls with pointy hats, I'm a boy with no hats!" The boy gave a satisfied smirk at his sound logic.
Arthur returned it with a frown. "Then how were the leaves doing that if you don't have magic?" He pointed towards the sky.
"Well, poopyhead, I never said I don't have magic, I said I'm not a witch. I have magic! My dad says I need to practice it to be good with it."
Arthur looked like he'd just got smacked repeatedly. Poopyhead? And to so boldly announce his magic...
"Who are you?" Arthur asked, utterly flabbergasted.
At that, the boy gave a big toothy grin, and bound over, forgetting their recent spiff, his robes were too big for him and were a clear tripping hazard; after a near fall or two, he got up to the taller boy and reached out his hand, Arthur just stared.
"My name is Merlin! Everyone calls me Emrys though, but I like Merlin 'cause that's what my mum calls me."
Arthur continued to stare and crossed his arms.
"I'm not shaking your hand you...sorcerer!"
Merlin dropped his hand along with his smile, and tilted his head. "I'm not a sorcerer either, I'm a warlock, when you're born with magic, you're a warlock." Merlin smiled once more and did a little spin.
Arthur scoffed at that, "Nuh uh, you can't be born with magic, you can only get it through doing bad things, very bad things."
Merlin frowned once more, a deeper sadder one.
"You're wrong! My mom said I used magic all the time as a baby, I would rock myself, and make spoons float when I didn't want to eat, and I could grab toys that fell out of my cot. Also also! Why would people use magic for bad stuff when there's a bunch of fun stuff you can do?"
Arthur looked into the face of the younger kid. He seemed...earnest, but Arthur still remembered the warnings of his father, how quickly magic users can deceive you.
But what if this kid had been deceived too? Forced to use magic for something evil...
"What do you use your magic for?"
Merlin was picking at his clothes at this point, uncomfortable under the young prince's glare, yet still looking up to meet his eye.
"Well, I'm still learning how to control my powers, but I really like making pretty things, like leaves dancing, and making little fire dragons or butterflies. I make the frogs fun too since they're a little ugly!"
Merlin gave a glance towards the pond, a fond smile on his face.
"Is that all you do?"
Merlin gave a little nod at that before running towards the pond in the clearing.
"I used magic to make this place quiet, so poopyheads like you don't wander in, but I guess it doesn't stop you from falling in" Merlin gave a shrug.
"You can't call me that!" Arthur said, crossing his arms.
"Why not?"
"Cause I'm a prince! THEE prince! Of Camelot!"
Merlin giggled at that, "I can believe you're a prince, but I bet you're the prince of Poopytown, not Camelot"
Arthurs face was turning a very fun shade of red, Merlin thought, and he didn't even have to use magic to cause it!
"Am too!" Arthur replied, defending his crown
"Are not."
"Am too!"
"Are not, are not, are not!"
"Am too, am too, am too!"
"Fine." Merlin conceded. "If you're the prince of Camlot"
"Camelot!" The eight year old corrected.
"Camelot, then you can help me with my assignment!"
Merlin focused on the pond.
"I'm working on a project to show my mum and dad and teachers how much I've learned! But I wanna show someone else first." Merlin scrambled around the pond.
"...Hey mister frog! Come back please, your makeover isn't done!"
"What are you doing?" Arthur asked.
Merlin had found his colourful toad, who turned a vibrant shade of gold in his hand, one that matched his eyes for a brief moment.
...No spell? Maybe he was telling the truth...
Arthur shook his head and kept his distance as Merlin set up what looked to be a home made puppet show.
Merlin began to go through a rather dramatic retelling of the princess and the frog. The other characters being made of fire and smoke, Arthur watched, enraptured.
"And so the prince and princess looked upon their kingdom, prospar..prosperous! in their ever lasting love. The end"
Arthur sat in shock at the way the story was told.
"Do another one!"
Merlin smiled at that, before a shout broke through the forest.
"ARTHUR! WHERE ARE YOU? ARTHUR!"
Arthur turned, looking between the shout and a now startled Merlin.
"That's my father and his knights...you should come with me, you're not bad but you shouldn't be made to use your magic for bad..."
"ARTHUR!"
Despite the magic barrier, the voice was getting closer.
Merlin shook his head. "I like the forest, it's my home! And my mom and dad would be sad if I left, but you should come back again soon." Merlin grinned.
"ARTHUR!" The sound of broken twigs filled the clearing, yet as Arthur turned back to the young boy, he was gone.
"ARTHUR, THERE YOU ARE! You had us worried sick."
Arthur muttered an apology as he was quickly whisked out of the clearing. The image of the boy clear in his mind.