Lineage - Prologue
Title: Lineage
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Summary: Thanks to his magic, Merlin always knew he had a weird heritage that his mother did not liking talking about. What he didn't expect was to find out she was a princess of the kingdom of Dyfed - making him heir to the throne. This changed...everything.
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Warnings: mentions of violence, swearing, some explicit sex (all later chapters)
Episode warnings: 113 (So first season, basically)
Beta: jusmine984
Notes: kinkme_merlin made me do it! This was a response to this prompt on kinkme_merlin: 'Arthur/Merlin. Merlin's mother is the daughter of the King of Demetia (Dyved, kingdom in southern Wales). When Merlin's true heritage comes to light, everything changes.' And, well, with the homework load I have, the logical response was, of course, to ignore and go write fic. ^_^
Also, this is why I used Carmarthen as the capital of Dyfed, and Merlin’s birthplace: Merlin’s Welsh name Myrddin is usually attributed to being a mistaken derivation of Moridunum - the Roman name for Carmarthen, or rather, the Roman fort there. As such, Carmarthen (by its Welsh name, not the Roman one) is often attributed as Mryddin’s birthplace - who, of course, later evolved into Merlin.
ETA: In light of us discovering Merlin's father's identity, I've made some minor edits to reflect that.
Masterpost
Lineage
Chapter 00 - Prologue:
The princess looked out her window over Carmarthen, glittering with life in the dead of night, and filled with the sounds of clanking metal. The guards of the city were on high alert, as they had been for quite some time.
She almost wished she were back in Tenby again, with the sight of the beautiful ocean to calm her. It was a small town compared to Carmarthen - of course, considering Carmarthen was the capital of Dyfed - but it was peaceful, and beautiful, especially with a full moon like tonight.
She'd come home to give birth to her son, in the kingdom's capital, as was right, but she hoped to one day be able to take him there...
She heard wailing and crying from the bassinet by her bedside, and smiled. Her son was hungry, then.
“Shh,” she murmured, reaching in and pulling him close to her, which calmed him, somewhat, as she stroked his silk baby’s robes, and doing her absolute best to ignore his lack of heartbeat. “Quiet, now, Merlin…come on, now, I know, you’re hungry…”
The acting nursemaid came in from the antechamber, and Hunith smiled and thanked her, but no, the baby prince’s diaper did not need changing, he just needed feeding, and she only needed her to unlace the back of her dress.
“Thank you, Sarah,” Hunith said. She always believed in being kind to the commoners, including the servants and nursemaids. “You may go - I wish to feed my son in privacy.”
“Of course, m’lady,” Sarah said, the young maidservant curtseying out of the room.
Smiling in amusement, Hunith tugged down the shoulder of her dress and brought Merlin to her breast, and he latched on immediately, his hunger evident in his suckling.
She heard a knock at the door. “Hunith?”
“Come in, Father,” she called. “But be warned, I’m feeding your grandson!”
King Rhodri was shaking his head wryly as he walked in. “My grandson…I still am having trouble fully realizing this. I’m a grandfather…I’m old!”
Hunith laughed, looking down at her babe. “Not that old.”
She looked up and saw the sad way her father was staring at Merlin, and sharply looked back down.
“Whatever it is, do not tell me just yet, father,” she said simply.
Obligingly, the king took a seat in her chair by the fire.
“How is he?” her father asked.
“Doing…surprisingly well.”
“Does he have a heartbeat yet?” he asked.
Hunith shook her head. “His blood is moving - his body is warm - but there is no pulse, and very little puffs of breath. Gaius says that he will not breathe normally until he is about a month old.”
“Hm,” Rhodri said. Hunith kept her eyes on her baby. “But at least he is well, however it is he is well.”
“Yes, father,” she said, cooing at her little prince.
“What else does the physician know about cambions?” he asked, somewhat distrustfully.
“Not too much,” she said. “He will likely have magic, but he won’t ever be a full incubus.”
“Small blessings,” the king murmured, before sighing. “Perhaps the magic will one day be of use to him.”
“Though if we make that part public, we can forget all ties to Camelot.” she said, wisely.
“Uther has little interest in expanding his kingdom,” Rhodri said, leaning back in his seat. “His focus is on protecting what is already there. We can survive without a tie to him.”
“Good,” Hunith said. “Because if he is magic, I dream he will never have to hide it, but can revel in his gifts.”
“If they turn out to be gifts,” Rhodri said, before sighing. “To which end…his paternity. The fact that his father was an incubus is best kept between us. Balinor is already rather ashamed that he managed to become possessed by an incubus.”
“It’s not his fault,” Hunith said simply.
Rhodri laughed. “I doubt that matters for his pride. Especially as he is a Dragonlord - he is supposed to be impervious to such idle threats as incubi.”
“It took me a few hours to convince him that he did not force himself on me,” Hunith said, a soft, fond smile on her face. "At least no more than the incubi bade both of us to let go of our inhibitions for each other."
Rhodri shook his head. “He still can’t quite believe that the prince is almost his son.”
“Merlin is and isn’t,” she said. “At least, according to Gaius. His blood comes from Balinor, but his magic will be something entirely new, even surpassing that of a Dragonlord - the combination of Dragonlord magic and Incubi magic seems to make Gaius both nervous and excited.”
“Hopefully, though, it won’t be too much else,” Rhodri said, smiling down at the little prince.
Hunith nodded, before looking down and noticing that Merlin was all finished. Pulling up her dress, she let it hang for a moment as she gently placed her son back in his cradle to sleep.
She jumped, slightly, at the feel of skin on her back, but relaxed as her father laced up her dress for her. “Thank you, Father.”
“No need, Hunith - I had enjoyed doing this for your mother, on occasion.”
Hunith smiled. When it was just them, alone, they indulged in their moments of fancy, of being just father and daughter, rather than king and princess.
Besides which, he still had bad news - she could tell - and she wanted to stall as long as possible.
When he finished, he stood back as she turned, and his hands landed on her shoulders, before suddenly pulling her close.
Sensing his need, she returned the embrace just as strongly as he.
After a while, he stood back, eyes shining, though remaining otherwise dry, as he said, “My daughter…I fear my reign is coming to an end!”
Hunith shut her eyes. “Don’t say that, Father - you are Rhodri Mawr…Rhodri the Great!”
“Aye, but that is coming to an end…and, I fear…” he sighed. “Some of the more powerful lords would be unwilling to wed you…and will fear you, as you have a son, and I an heir.”
She swallowed. “You believe grievous harm may befall Merlin?”
Rhodri nodded, turning to the antechamber, and calling for Sarah to find a servant and have a decanter of wine and some cheese.
Turning back to her, he said, “I…you…” he sighed again. “I cannot believe I am saying this, but…do you remember your dreams of commoners as a child, m’dear?”
She nodded quickly. “I still have some of my clothes from when I would go to the markets as a commoner.”
“And giving me gray hairs in the process,” Rhodri said, with a fond smile on his face. “I do sincerely hope that Merlin makes you as miserable as you have made me and your mother.”
Hunith laughed. “Of course, Father.”
“But,” he said, sobering up. “I…I fear that dream may be realized. It is not a matter of if you and Merlin are attacked, but when. I am getting old, and Balinor is a capable warrior and Dragonlord and knows nothing of politics - and this is all discounting that he still hides from us and from Camelot and will not available for true kingshipt, and…well. I fear not for your skill - I know you would make an excellent ruler - but I fear for your life. I know the lords would, at best, manipulate you and everything around you to their advantage, as they are already doing with me, and at worst, kill you outright, you and Merlin both, especially as you are so young, not even of age, yet.”
Hunith clutched his hands with her own, offering what little comfort she could as he talked.
“I am ailing as we speak, Hunith. I will not last long. And Roderick - there is little your uncle can do. He never once hoped for kingship, or held the idea he might one day be king. He succumbs to nobility’s manipulations even now, no matter that he tries his best to weave around it. He would not be able to hold the kingdom together on his own, and with the lords as his high councilors to help, well…I fear for Dyfed, as well.”
She was trembling. Merlin, her dear Merlin…only a few weeks old, he was already her everything.
“What do you mean, that…that…?”
Rhodri perched on the edge of her bed, holding his daughter, his Hunith, in his arms.
“I doubt you will ever truly become queen, or that you would be queen long if you were to become such. I cannot give you my title that our status has promised, as king and princess. But I can give you life as our blood has promised, as father and daughter.”
“You…you want me to run away? Become a commoner? Are you asking me to turn my back on my people?”
She was sharp as a witch’s dagger, and he shut his eyes for a moment, which did little to hide the sadness in them when they opened again. “Yes. I am…I am so sorry.”
Hunith swallowed as she thought through this…
“It…it could be simple enough,” Rhodri continued. “The public still does not know of the child, though I admit, that might not last long. We can say the child was born of a night of drunken passion at the Samhain feast in Tenby, or, to preserve your reputation, at least, that Balinor is planning to use this fiasco to run off for the commoners’ lands, anyway. We can say he had forced himself on you, somehow.”
“I would prefer Merlin not be known as the son of a rapist, even if it comes at the cost to my own reputation,” Hunith said, sighing and gazing at Merlin.
“I would rather you two stay here,” Rhodri said, quietly. “Alas…life doesn’t always turn in our favor. I can only hope that Merlin was sent to us from the gods to favor us, and this matter resolves itself with a miracle.”
~*~
Within a month, the matter was settled. The miracle part - not so much.
Merlin’s breath was strong, though he still had no heartbeat. Sarah had already discovered this, and Hunith’d had to swear her maidservant and longtime friend to secrecy, before explaining the truth to her.
She was holding Merlin, now, with the physician, Gaius, examining the infant, as he did daily.
Her father was here, as well, in her rooms which had been her home for so long, and which she may never see again once she left.
“He is doing well,” Gaius proclaimed. “I do not know how long until he has a heartbeat, but his blood does move. Some records hold it likely at months, some hold it as years.” He paused in thought, while Hunith pondered over the thought of it being years before Merlin had a heartbeat. “You say his breath goes weaker right before feeding?”
“Yes,” she said. “His breath is strong and steady after feeding, though.”
“Hm…” Gaius checked some book again (he had a lot of books, which Hunith loved going through), before saying, “I suspect, then, that when Merlin eats on his own and finishes feeding from you, he will gain a heartbeat. The disparity between women’s ending points for feeding with their own milk would explain the disparity between ages a heartbeat appears.”
Hunith nodded silently as Sarah gave Merlin back to her.
“Thank you,” King Rhodri said. To Sarah, he added, “I need to have a word in private with my daughter and the physician.”
Nodding and curtseying, slightly, she quickly gathered up the plates from the small lunch and scurried out of the room.
Rhodri sighed once the door was closed.
“Gaius,” he said, carefully. “Where do you intend to travel, next?” he asked.
“Likely back to Camelot, soon, to return to the service of King Uther. May I ask why, your highness?”
“Is there any way you can facilitate my daughter’s travel to Northumbria?”
“Why?” Gaius asked, confused in his role, and her reason.
“Fleeing,” Hunith said. “The Mawr rule ends with my father. My son and I will live out our lives amongst the farming villages.”
Gaius’s eyes widened, and Hunith couldn’t agree more.
“You will leave with the traveling physician when he leaves,” Rhodri said to her. “Gaius is already like a brother for you, anyway.”
She smiled, as her father started explaining.
“Lord Balinor is planning to run off to the woods to hide - a Dragonlord is no longer safe in this side of Albion. Normally, I would do quite a bit in my power to stop him, but…I made a deal with him. I will let him run, and make sure there is no one truly behind him, if he will let me use him in our story, at the cost of his reputation.”
“What will it be?” Gaius asked, carefully.
“You never did give the details,” Hunith chipped in.
“You and Balinor met and fell in love at first sight,” Rhodri said, addressing her. “You two were delighted to learn of the pregnancy, and wanted to essentially surprise the kingdom, gift it with an heir. Then you had to conceal it, because of all the political stormfire, and fear for your lives. As you two were already planning to wed and had already done a private handfasting ceremony, Merlin was born as not a bastard child, not entirely. Everything was going well. But, in light hiding, the backlash against all those remotely associated with magic - including Dragonlords - intensified, and the tension surrounding Hunith, bade Balinor to run away and for you to follow.”
Hunith nodded. Hunith nodded. This was going to be...going to be hard. That was all she could think of. Hard
“I will…” Gaius paused. “I will look into the best villages for the princess and prince to live in.”
“No - you will be looking for the best places for Hunith and Merlin,” Hunith said. “We will be royalty no more.
Even as she said that, she choked over her words, and looked down at her babe, again, and knew that despite the fact he would not be the Prince of Dyfed, he would always be a prince in her heart. The prince of her heart.
There were some things which even royal blood could not touch.
Rhodri took a sharp breath, before saying, “Wait one moment,” to her and her alone, and leaving. Gaius continued describing the details of how the little princeling - no, Merlin, just Merlin - would fare, and after Gaius has left and she laid her baby down in his cot, her father returned, holding two of his neckerchiefs in his hand.
“Father…?” she asked, confused. They were his favorites - the simple but well colored ones, one red and one blue, rather large, but soft to the touch. Hunith often imagine they would feel like clouds.
He handed her the blue one, first. “For what I cannot give you…Dyfed,” he said, simply, as blue and gold were her kingdom’s colors. Then he handed her the red one. “Our blood, our hearts. For what it is I can give you.”
“But…father…they are your favorites…”
“And I gladly pass them on to you,” he said. “And I hope one day, you will pass them on to Merlin. This…once you leave, this will be the only royal garb you will ever wear again.”
Her throat tightened as the wind left her, as suddenly, she realized…she could never come back. She would never again wear the fine clothing, never again walk the halls of her home, and never again see her father.
Hunith’s world would truly reside in Merlin.
Sobbing, she dropped the accessories on the table and ran forward, clutching her father’s tunic and sobbing into his chest, his strong warms circling around her and pulling her close.
“I am going to miss you, Father,” she said.
“And I you, my daughter,” he said. “But my heart will always be with you. Always.”
~*~
“Are you comfortable, your highness?” Gaius asked her as they quietly left the city in the morning, when people would be least suspicious of travelers.
“Please,” Hunith said. “I am just Hunith, now. And yes, I’m fine. I have worn commoner’s clothes, before - I used to all the time, in fact.”
Gaius smiled at her, before turning back and giving the reins another flip, and looking up. “Hopefully, it shan’t rain, today.”
Hunith smiled up at the sky. Cloudy, but not too much. “I think we will be fine.”
“Just in case, I have a few heavy blankets I will rub with oil for you and the little one.”
“Thank you, Gaius,” she said. “You take such great care of me, and you barely even know me.”
“I could say the same for you, your high-Hunith,” he said. “You barely knew me and yet welcomed me with open arms into your palace.”
Hunith swallowed and nodded. “So your travels are to an end?”
“Yes.”
“Because of the persecution of magic in Camelot?” she asked. “I am much sharper than I appear - you left when the persecution started, and it has just recently ended, or at least the worst of it…”
Gaius sighed. “The last mercy of King Uther upon a sorcerer was sending me away during this time, to get rid of my magical texts and learn about more healing methods, to compensate for me now having to forgo magic.”
Hunith sighed. “Pity. Camelot has always sounded like a beautiful city.”
“You can still go, milady.”
“With a cambion for a child? I think not.”
“He will likely soon be breathing normally with a pulse to match,” Gaius said.
Hunith shook her head. “I want him somewhere safe.”
She looked down at the precious bundle in her arms, wrapped in the neckerchiefs and a blanket, sleeping peacefully for all the movement. He was her world, now, truly and utterly, and she would give her life for him…it was the only thing she could give, and she had already done so.
~*~
“Really, Merlin, I’m fine, now-”
“Mother-”
“Merlin!” she said, half lightheartedly and half seriously, setting down her tea on her son’s bedside table and shaking her head. “I’m more worried about you.”
“Me? I’m fine!”
Taking in his soaked clothes, his pale skin, his trembling - despite the warmth - and his haunted eyes, she gave him a rather pointed look. “I am getting better, you know. I may have been severely ill, but it was just an illness…”
She saw the look on his face. “It…wasn’t…just an illness?” she asked.
“Magic,” Merlin said. “Deep, complex magic. I’m…I’m so sorry you got caught up in it. It was never meant to be you, but this sorceress Nimueh changed everything and with this entire Questing Beast business, I couldn’t really-”
“Merlin,” Hunith said, carefully, bringing her hand up to stroke his face. “Whatever it is, I am here now, and so is Prince Arthur, who is healing rather admirably if everything Guinevere tells me is true.”
Her son sighed. “Yea, yea…just get some rest, will you, Mother? This magic is…just get some rest.”
“And you get into some dry clothes,” she said. “And stop slouching!”
His shoulders straightened immediately, and she ignored Gaius’s amused voice in the back of her head jokingly-reprimanding her about still raising her son like a noble - like a prince. “Sorry - habit of a servant.”
She sighed. “Yes, well, around me, you are my son, not my servant.”
Merlin nodded, looking down at the sheets again.
“Have you…” Hunith trailed off. “Have you told Arthur about your magic, yet?”
“No,” Merlin said. “And considering Arthur’s latest wound is purely of magic, I think now is not the best time.”
“His cure is also of magic. He is sharper than he appears, Merlin. It benefits a child of royalty to appear a dimwit until they actually ascend the throne. I told you this. And there was a reason I taught you to read.”
Merlin smiled, and said, “I always did say you taught me more than nobles taught their children.”
“Excuse me for wanting to have a well educated son!” she said, her barb completely bite-less. They both smiled, before Merlin’s face became more forlorn.
“But no, Mother - I haven’t. I can’t.”
Hunith sighed.
“Please…just consider it.”
Before Merlin could say another word, Gaius bustled into the room.
“Arthur is requesting you, Merlin,” Gaius said, sternly, and Merlin smiled sadly, exhausted, and Hunith wants to ask why it was her son and Gaius left so abruptly, yesterday, and why Gaius was tired, and why he was dry and Merlin was not, but Merlin is gone in a flash before she can ask, only giving her a look that said, yes, he would consider it.
She turned to Gaius, who can read her questions and sighs, taking Merlin’s seat in the chair by her bed. “It is magic - but magic you are best to not know of. Merlin has been through a hard ordeal, one he is still recovering from.”
“Where was he, last night, when you two…came back?” she asked.
“I do not know, but I suspect outside. Of course your idiotic son had to go out in the middle of the rain at night, but I believe he will be fine. He’s a creature of magic, and nature will always calm him.”
“It always did,” she said, looking at her son through the door to Gaius’s main chambers, watching as he remembered to walk straight as she taught him (“Don’t let the world trample over you, Merlin.”), and he gathered herbs and bandages, and with a few whispered words and the all too familiar and all too alien flash of his eyes, he was dry. He slumped his shoulders in a purposeful way, and Hunith couldn’t help but call, “Merlin?”
He turned back and smiled, and more and more these days, she marveled at how much like his human father he looked like. “Yea?”
“Please…consider it, at least,” she said.
Merlin’s smile became a big, dopey grin, one which most definitely came from her side of the family. Possibly Uncle Roderick. Or Father, on his rare, carefree days.
Or maybe it was just Merlin being Merlin.
“Of course, Mother,” he said, before turning on his heels and leaving. Hopefully, by tonight, there would be one more person who would know of Merlin’s magic.
And one more person to help him through his trials, whatever they were.
Gaius shook his head, and started sprinkling the powdered herbs into her tea.
“My son,” she murmured, looking around her. Being in this castle, in Camelot, always made her think back to her own days as royalty.
“He is truly extraordinary,” Gaius said.
“You would think, after almost two decades…” she sighed. “I’m back in a castle, and…I still wonder, now and then, how he would fare, as prince.”
Gaius smiled. “I suspect he would be a little rash, but he could make a good leader, more so during the peace of Dyfed than war. He would be a fair man. He usually is - and he’s certainly never let trivial things like rank stop him. He stands up to Arthur on a regular basis and he is only a servant. As a prince…”
She smiled. “I raised him to be strong. Just. Fair. All the best qualities of a young man.”
“Or a prince?” Gaius asked, eyebrow raised.
“Not everything,” she huffed. “I taught him how to be a good man. If many of those qualities are those commonly befitting royalty…well, there is a reason the standards of royalty are high.”
Gaius rolled his eyes and opened a jar of paste, and started gently spreading it across her pustules. “May have done it a bit too well - he’s been known to spend days in the stocks at a time when his insubordination gets the best of him.”
“Aye, but he is strong,” she said, looking out the door, again, even though Gaius’s work chambers were empty.
She sighed, and Gaius said, “Hunith…I know you have Ealdor to worry about, but please do stay a while after you recover. Merlin has been through a lot, lately. He has the comfort of friends and he has come to truly see me as an uncle, possibly a father figure. But the comfort of a mother is something that cannot be replaced.”
Sighing, Hunith said, “Do you think it selfish that I want to bring Merlin back to Ealdor with me? Where life is simple?”
Gaius smiled and shook his head. “Can the farmers spare you?”
She nodded. “They should.”
Her brother in all but blood nodded. “Good. Stay a while…maybe you could get some work, here? I know the crops were bad - you could save up some wages to take home.”
She gave him and odd look. “Just like that?”
“Despite how frustrating Merlin likely is for Arthur,” Gaius said. “The two are close. Not to mention Morgana’s sway on the serving staff as a whole. A few words from those two, together, and yes - just like that.”
She blinked, because when she had first fallen ill, beyond her capability to heal herself, and come seeking Gaius…she most definitely hadn’t planned to stay, and yet, here he was-
She look at his face, again, as he looked out the door Merlin had left through shortly beforehand.
“Gaius…what happened to my son?”
The man sighed. “Power. He…he no longer knows just what his limits are, and I believe that terrifies him. He demonstrated, just days ago, power almost beyond imagination. Power like that of a force of nature.” A pause. “From what he told me…he commanded a storm, and took the power of life and death in his own hands.”
She paled. “He…he what? What does that mean? What did he-”
“Quiet, Hunith,” Gaius said, smiling, pushing her tea towards her. “The Questing Beast was dangerous. And only the raw magic of the Old Religion can reverse its bite and its fate - death. But there is a balance to be kept, a life for a life. And Merlin intended it to be his for Arthur’s.”
She gasped, her hand flying to her heart. “You’re right…I did raise him too nobly.”
Gaius chuckled. “But it wasn’t Merlin’s life that was taken - it was yours. Merlin and I…well, there were many trades being offered. Ultimately, Merlin took matters into his own hands and killed the sorceress behind this - Nimueh.”
She swallowed. “He…he killed? I mean…at Ealdor, with the raiders, I’ve seen…but this…”
Gaius’s lips and eyebrows quirked. “He would do anything for Arthur.”
She thought back again to Ealdor, and the raiders. “And it sounds like the feeling is mutual.”
The physician laughed outright at that. “For all their bickering and fighting and whatnot, yes, they would. They have thrown their lives before each other’s without a second thought, and I doubt that will ever end.”
Leaning back in her bed, she murmured, “My baby…at least someone is looking out for him.”
“So will you stay?” Gaius asked. “Your son needs you, Hunith.”
She paused in thought.
“Well…I might as well help you teach him Latin, if nothing else. I’ve certainly taught him everything else.”
Gaius grinned. “I am glad to hear it, Hunith. And if we could ever tear a confession of such from Merlin, I’m sure he would be happy to hear it, too.”
Shaking her head, she said, “Fine, Gaius, you win…Now, where’s that tea?”
~*~
A/N: Posting schedule will be more erratic on this one (it was thought up rather on the spot).
Next Chapter
Masterpost