Counterfeit Princess
Title: Counterfeit Princess
Author: JessicaMDawn / satsuki_tears
Artist:
delicious-irony
Pairings/Characters: Merlin/Arthur, Gwen/Lancelot; Merlin, Arthur, Morgana, Gwen, Gwaine, Gaius, Lancelot, Will, Agravaine, etc.
Rating: T
Word count: 33,570
Warnings: Kidnapping. Merlin uses magic to present as a female. Arthur breaks an ankle. Agravaine being Agravaine.
Disclaimer: Merlin does not belong to either the artist nor the author. This work was made for pleasure, not for profit.
Author’s notes: Thank you so much to delicious-irony for all the work you put in to making art for this piece. And thank you to the mods for hosting this challenge. And thank you to WardenRed and DLanaDHZ for the beta reads. I enjoyed writing this fic. It's an idea I had ages and ages ago, back when Merlin was a new show, that I never felt I could do right. When I decided to take part in AfterCamlann, I found the file for the original idea and was finally able to mold it into something worthwhile. I hope you enjoy!
Summary: Morgana le Fay is Duchess of Ealdor, a moderately sized city in the kingdom of Albion. Her two best friends are Gwen, her handmaid, and Merlin, the physician’s assistant. One day news arrives that Prince Arthur is coming to town to meet her, but why?
When Morgana goes missing the day before Prince Arthur arrives, Gwen approaches Merlin with an idea: Merlin can pretend to be Morgana until the Lady is found. The idea is ludicrous - not least because Merlin is a man - but with a little bit of magic it might actually work.
The plan starts out well, with Morgana’s guard out searching for her while Merlin distracts the prince…except that Merlin finds himself falling in love with Arthur, who is visiting with the intention of making Morgana his queen. A gender bending fairy tale fic.
Story link: (with art) AO3, (without art) FFN
Art link: pillowfort, AO3