Briefly Untitled (Chapter 6)
Title: Briefly Untitled
Rated: PG13
Genre: Fantasy/Humor | MerlinxSHINee crossover
Summary: After receiving a strange pendant during a fanmeet, the five boys of famed kpop group SHINee find themselves waking up in a land of myth and a time of magic.
A/N: Dedicated to my prettymuch-sister Jenny because I wouldn't have thought of combining these two fandoms on my own.
Arthur was fairly certain that if his father was still alive, this boy (Minho, he said his name was) and Taemin would both have probably been doomed for execution on the spot because there was something very..magic about their situations. What other explanation was there? None, that he could see. Two people showing up in odd places at random times and not knowing where they were or how they got there just didn’t happen.
Except that it had and now two of his best knights were waiting for him to do something about it.
“Alright…one more time. You went to bed..?”
Minho nodded, standing a few safe feet from the king, between Leon and Gwaine. “I went to bed in my dorm with my four bandmates.”
“In your dorm…with your four bandmates…but you woke up on the floor of my armory..”
Another nod. “Yes.” Gwaine elbowed the tall man. “Ow! I mean yes..er…sire?”
“And you have no idea how you got there or where your friends are?” Arthur already knew the answer but he wasn’t sure what to do besides ask again.
“No, sire. I don’t.”
“You look strong.” Arthur observed. It hadn’t exactly been what he’d been planning to say but there wasn’t going to be any kind of solution if they kept on going in circles.
Minho looked slightly surprised. “Um..thank you? I..I am..sort of..”
Knights were supposed to be well mannered and of noble blood, not strange odd-looking things who behaved more like a certain neckerchief wearing manservant he unfortunately happened to know. But Arthur didn’t think there was any other choice. If there was magic involved here, the boy clearly was more a victim of it than anything, so he couldn’t be executed. And he was on his own, clearly unfamiliar with where he was so banishment would be almost as cruel. Plus he really hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d woken up on the floor of the armory. By all accounts, Arthur had more of a reason to punish Taemin than this kid but he’d gone and made Taemin a servant. And they really had too many servants already…
“You’ll stay with Leon and Gwaine.” he said. “Throw him into some mail, give him a sword, and start him on basic moves.”
Before either knight could protest, Arthur left for his chambers.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Merlin grumbled the entire way to Arthur’s chambers. Like it wasn’t bad enough that there was a foreign midget, who clearly didn’t belong in this world, running around insulting him at every chance, he hadn’t even had the proper chance to sulk about it because almost as soon as he’d slumped into his room and shut the door, he was being hauled back out with only a brief “Arthur needs you” as explanation from Gaius. Not that an explanation had been needed. The pratty king had left him well enough alone for the entire day so far, not once requesting his presence, so really it was no surprise that he’d gotten summoned. It was just weird to have not been summoned until so late in the day.
Figuring the king would have called him for something mundane, already done and therefore unnecessary (like polishing his sword, which he had had the warlock do no less than five times the previous day), Merlin shoved the door open, entering without knocking as he always failed to do. But upon taking two steps into the room, he realized a few insignificant things.
Or really, they should have been insignificant but considering the recent circumstances were very…very significant.
Arthur wasn’t in his room
A boy was staring at him from his seat
His seat in Arthur’s favorite chair
The boy looked foreign, not only like he didn’t belong in that chair (which he most certainly did not) or that he also did not belong in those clothes (which Merlin was fairly certain belonged to the king) but that he almost looked like he didn’t belong in that general….everything.
Merlin frowned, staring the unknown boy down. “Who’re you?”
Staring right back, though a little less surely, the boy shrugged. “Taemin.”
Funny sounding name..funny looking boy…
He groaned as it hit him.
“You’re one of them.”
“One of who?” Taemin asked, sitting up more in Arthur’s chair.
Merlin gestured, a little unsure of the nice way to phrase “weird looking alien child from the future” but was saved from doing so as Arthur all but threw the door open, coming in with a big grin.
“Ah Merlin! There you are, you lazy sod. This is Taemin.” and Merlin would have rolled his eyes because yes, he knew who this was, he’d been there long enough to learn his name, except Arthur was smiling so brightly for once Merlin couldn’t find it in himself to be a brat.
That is until Arthur continued talking
And Arthur always had to continue talking didn’t he?
“You may be the laziest, rudest, most disrespectful, not to mention terrible servant in all of the five kingdoms and beyond but sadly i’ve nothing else for you to do this afternoon so you will spend your time teaching Taemin here how not to be a servant. Surely by being around you he’ll pick up on what he’s actually supposed to do.”
Merlin glared and Arthur just kept grinning.
“What’s wrong, Merlin? You look like someone just ruined your favorite dress.”
“I don’t have a dress, you prat.”
“Oh come now, Merlin. The entire castle knows your secret after Guinevere caught you picking out one of Morgana’s dresses.”
“One time! That was one time and I didn’t even put it on!”
“I’m sure.”
“I didn’t!”
“Merlin.” Arthur emphasized his servant’s name, giving him a look that signaled that this conversation was quite over. Merlin snapped his mouth shut but continued to glare. He didn’t crossdress damnit! He didn’t!
“Merlin is a man of many denials, Taemin. Ignore them all. Anyway, you two can go off and do …whatever it is servants do in their free time.”
Giving one last glare, as if it would somehow make up for the fact that he was pretty sure Taemin really believed that he enjoyed wearing dresses (he didn’t!), Merlin stomped out of the room, gesturing for the new servant to follow.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Onew had to say that after waking up where he didn’t fall asleep, being tied up, enchanted by an intimidating witch, and then waking up again what felt like ages later on a small bed in what appeared to be a dark hut, he didn’t really expect to be sitting at a little table across from said intimidating witch, having a friendly chat over a cup of tea. But that’s where he found himself.
The witch, Morgana, despite appearances was actually quite nice if you were oblivious enough to not know anything about anything. And thankfully, Onew was perfectly oblivious about everything. Waking up on a forest floor had its perks.
“So, Onew was it?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
Morgana cooed, pinching Onew’s cheek. “You’re absolutely darling. Call me Morgana, sweetheart. I think we’re on a first name basis here, don’t you?”
Onew beamed and nodded again. “I suppose we are.”
Patting his cheek, Morgana returned to holding her cup. “Good boy. Now…Onew…lets say that I had been wronged. Wronged in a very terrible way…and something that was mine was taken from me…would you help me get it back?”
Despite all the bad feelings in his stomach telling him this was not a direction he wanted to go in, Onew found himself pushing those feelings away and nodding. He would always try to help someone if he could, especially someone who had had something taken from them. And Morgana had been kind to him, gifting him with clean clothes, a cup of tea, and a warm fire to sit by. She didn’t have to help him, she could have left him on the forest floor; tied up and unable to defend himself, but she hadn’t, so wasn’t this the least he could do after her kindness? Help her in return?
“I’m not sure how I can help but i’ll do my best.” he offered, smiling, and that seemed to be a good enough answer as Morgana smiled back at him.
“You are a good friend, Onew.”
“Thank you,” he blushed, ducking his head enough that he almost got his nose in his tea. “So..um.. what exactly are we getting back for you then?” he asked, curious.
That funny bad feeling returned in his stomach with a vengeance.
“The throne of Camelot.”
TBC