Entry: OC02En01

Title: Little Princess

Theme and/ or Prompt/s: Fairytale

Genre: Friendship/Romance, Crack

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 1805 words

Characters/Pairings: Arthur/Guinevere, Merlin, Gwaine – Mentions of others.

Spoilers: General knowledge of the series and the characters backgrounds, but nothing really.

Disclaimer: Sadly I own nothing.

Summary: Due to the curious incident of time travel, Arthur is able to meet a young Guinevere – and is surprised to discover her love for Cinderella.

Author’s notes: Originally written for One Shot Challenge 2 (Fairytale) over at ag_fics. A bit rough, I haven’t written a fic in ages. I should also note that there is a brief, shameless Harry Potter reference in here somewhere if anyone can spot it!

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Once upon a time…

They landed with a bang, the three of them falling in a pile of arms and legs, frantically trying to disentangle themselves amidst mumbled curses and oaths.

“Merlin!” yelled their king, his blonde hair sticking out at odd angles, hand immediately reaching towards his sword. “What happened?!”

“Um, well…” Arthur stared incredulously at the sorcerer, wondering how, after two years as a member of the royal court, Merlin could still possess the inelegance of a clumsy manservant.

“Speak up Merlin!” called the third member of their party, Gwaine. His hair miraculously immaculate as always and his expression the rare one of seriousness, he studiously swept his gaze over their surroundings.

“Righttttt…well remember this?” Merlin gestured the battered diary in his hand and his companions nodded bemusedly. “Well, it’s enchanted.”

“You don’t say!”

“Do you want me to continue?” Merlin took Arthur’s disgruntled mumble as a yes. “It contains memories, and my guess is…”

“Oh! Now he’s just guessing, fantastic!” Aside from a raised eyebrow in Gwaine’s general direction Merlin ignored the interruption.

“My guess is that the diary has taken us back to the most emotional time in the owner’s life. It shouldn’t last long, the magic isn’t very powerful.” He shrugged nonchalantly, while Arthur and Gwaine looked at him incredulously.

“So we’re stuck in another time, who knows where…when! And you’ve nothing more to say than “It shouldn’t last long”?!”

Gwaine sighed “Well, since we’re stuck here, let’s explore.” The other two agreed and, swords drawn, they set off down the narrow street, Arthur in the lead, Gwaine behind him, Merlin bringing up the rear as he tried to remember all he had ever read on ‘time travel’.

“Well, we’re definitely still in Camelot.” He heard Arthur say from in front.

Suddenly an idea came to him, and he rushed off towards the crowded street ahead. He could hear Arthur and Gwaine shouting him, following him at a run when they got no response. They soon stopped in shock however, as the sorcerer ran straight through a young woman at the fruit stall.

“What the…???” blustered Gwaine, while Arthur too looked completely baffled. Their confusion only doubled when Merlin turned to them with a huge grin on his face.

“Just as I thought!! This is fantastic!” He went on to explain, “We’re not really here, we’re like ghosts!!”

“And that’s good how?”

“I’ve…”

“We can’t be executed.” Gwaine interrupted, looking over Merlin’s shoulder. The other two men turned, only now noticing the lingering stench of burning, Arthur shuddered. There, leading up to the courtyard, were dozens of pyres, and even more witches and wizards waiting to be tied to them.

“The Great Purge.” He had known the history of this like the back of his hand since he was a boy, educated by his father about the importance of such an event. But he had never truly understood the vileness of it, the horror. It was a massacre, no matter how much Uther had tried to justify it. Arthur resisted the urge to vomit. Of course, when he had become King, he had restored magic to the kingdom, with the guidance and support of Merlin – but it could never make up for the losses suffered during that terrible time.

“Come on, we should get away from here.” Gwaine grasped his shoulder, pulling him away.

They couldn’t be seen, but all three wanted to be somewhere they felt safe until the spell wore off. Since the castle was out of the question, they eventually decided to go to what would have been Guinevere’s house.

The lights were off, so they opened the door and let themselves in (Merlin suggested they could just walk through the wood – but the other two felt that it would just be too weird).

Merlin and Gwaine immediately seated themselves on the floor beneath the window, while Arthur moved to see if he could light a candle, when said candle lighted of its own accord…or more accurately, was lit by a small girl with messy brown curls atop her head.

She turned and Arthur found himself looking into deep, chocolate eyes – familiar eyes…

“Guinevere.”

“Yes, who are you? Are you here to see daddy?”

Arthur jumped, and saw Merlin and Gwaine mirror his movement from the corner of his eye.

“Ummm…Arthur. Yes. You can see me???”

“Of course I can!”

“This entire spell is tied with emotion, she’s your future wife, the love between the two of you must enable her to see you,” Merlin offered.

“Ah, the power of love!” Was Gwaine’s input, before Merlin shushed him.

Arthur was to busy trying to process what Merlin had just said to notice that little Gwen was talking to him, until she slammed her foot down on his toe.

“Oww!! What was that for!”

Merlin and Gwaine snickered loudly, and Guinevere turned towards their corner confused, but seemingly unable to see them.

“Why did she just hear you?” Arthur demanded, rubbing his toe.

“Well, her feelings for us may not be as strong as they are for you, but we are her good friends so…”

Arthur snorted.

“Oy!” Called Gwaine, “Princess loves us too you know!”

Arthur grinned at the nickname, he knew it always brought a smile to Guinevere’s face, but still came back with his practised response of “She’s Queen now Gwaine!”

“Oh yes she is.” The knight nodded at the little girl behind Arthur. She was stood with her hands on her hips, a stern expression on her face, looking very much The Queen. Uh oh.

“It’s rude to ignore someone when they’re talking to you!”

“Sorry, I…Where are your parents anyway?”

“I just told you but you weren’t listening!!” She sighed dramatically, took a deep breath, and launched into her explanation, talking so fast that Arthur had trouble keeping up.

“Daddy’s with Elyan in the forge next door, he’ll be back in a little while so you can wait for him, he doesn’t like to be disturbed when he’s working. Mummy is working at Sir Ector’s house, she usually takes me, but I’m not allowed today because I shouted at Leon!” She pouted. “It was his fault, he said girls couldn’t fight!” She folded her arms across her chest, looking at him defiantly, as if daring him to contradict her. Arthur was too busy trying not to laugh – how like Guinevere, his warrior queen!

“Stop laughing!” So his attempt to hide his mirth had failed then.

“Ok, ok…I’m sorry. I’ll wait for your father then.” Hopefully they would be back in their own time by the time Tom arrived.

Gwaine laughed from behind him, “Even at the age of…what, seven?…she’s got you wrapped around her little finger!”

Arthur shot him a look which clearly said Shut up!

There was silence in the small cottage for a moment, Arthur knew Gwen was studying him, and for his part he didn’t know what to say. What can you say to your seven-year-old wife?!?

Suddenly he spied the book she was holding in her right hand, “What’s that?” he asked her.

She smiled, suddenly bashful, “It’s just a book of fairytales!”

Arthur beamed – he never saw Guinevere as the type of girl to read fairy stories, she always seemed so practical, pragmatic. Then again, he supposed the loss of her mother had sobered her greatly, Elyan’s subsequent departure forcing her to grow up quickly.

Bending down to her level, he took the book from her carefully, and began flicking through.

“Which story is your favourite?”

“Cinderella!!!” She squealed instantly, and then blushed furiously. The three men laughed. However, when the other two started to whisper things to each other about “destiny” and “typical Princess” Arthur was confused.

“What are you two on about??” He hissed, after asking Gwen to find the correct page for him, hoping it would distract her.

“Oh come on Arthur – don’t you think it’s a little funny how Gwen’s favourite story was Cinderella?? Given your relationship?” Merlin explained, amused.

“What? What is Cinderella? It sounds like an illness!”

“You never heard of Cinderella?” Gwaine sounded horrified.

“No, well my father didn’t think fairytales were …appropriate.” Merlin sighed in understanding, he knew Arthur had had an unusual childhood – Uther wasn’t the most loving of parents.

“Just look at the book.”

Rolling his eyes Arthur turned back to Guinevere, who was now sat on the bed, staring down at the colourful pictures wistfully.

“Would you like me to read you a story??” He asked, carefully taking a seat beside her.

“Yes please!!”

“Okay…” Nervously he took the book from her, and gave her a moment to get herself comfortable peering over his shoulder at the pages.

“Ready?” She nodded. “Here goes… Once upon a time…” Arthur decided to ignore the smirks on both Gwaine and Merlin’s face, instead focusing on the tale of a serving girl, who fell in love with a prince. The prince fitted a glass slipper to the girl’s foot, they got married, and lived happily ever after.

“The End.” He finished a smile, while Guinevere let out a sleepy sigh of happiness. Arthur understood now why the other two had found this so amusing…the story was practically a retelling of his and Guinevere’s life – They even had their own fairy godmother in Merlin! The only difference was that the fairytale version was much simpler, much kinder.

“Thank you.” The girl beside him whispered, just as he felt the soft weight of her head against his shoulder. Gently, Arthur lifted her into his arms, quickly laying her back down again in a more comfortable position, pulling the blanket over her.

“I know it’s silly,” she murmured, “Elyan says fairytales aren’t real…but I wish they were…”

“Arthur!!” He spun to see the diary clasped in Merlin’s hand glowing golden – it was time to go home.

He turned back to Guinevere who was now sleeping soundly, and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead whispering, “Don’t worry Guinevere, one day, your Prince will come.”

Gwaine was smirking at him again, but before Arthur had chance to retort, they were dragged back to their own time.

*********************************

Once they had ensured that they were indeed safely home in their own time, Arthur wished his knight and advisor goodnight before heading off to his chambers.

And as he crawled in bed beside his wife that night, slinging his arm around her waist, gently resting his palm against her swollen belly, he couldn’t help but wonder; would this child be a daughter? (Merlin had assured him the baby was male, apparently he just had a feeling– and as such Arthur was inclined to believe the opposite.) And if so, would she be as charming a child as her mother? He smiled – then again, with parents such as he and Guinevere, how could she not be?

The End