It's been a while since I wrote something for Merlin fandom. I wanted this to be a oneshot, but well... turns out now it's got about seven chapters. It's my first Merthur AU, where Merlin is an angel and Arthur is human. Their love is forbidden, but they find a way to stay together of course. This fanfic started thanks to a Merthur AU fest on Instagram started by (at sign)all_about_merthur (*cough* in FEBRUARY *cough*) and I know it's really late now, but I finished this yesterday and I'm very excited to finally post it here. I hope you'll enjoy it! :D #allaboutmerthuraufest

Updates should be weekly, which means Friday (or Saturday once school starts, it's my senior year so I probably won't have much time).

The story is set in season 1 during 1x04 The Poisoned Chalice.

Oh and Merlin speaks Latin a bit (I have like zero experience with that language so I used an online translator... hope it still sounds nice). The translation will be at the end of the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Warning: English isn't my first language.

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~ FALLING FOR YOU ~
By Mischel

...

CHAPTER 1
It's Not Stalking Okay

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Merlin loved the Garden of Eden. The enormous Garden in heaven - his home. He loved every tree, every leaf and every blade of grass beneath his feet. And he loved to breathe in the sweet air as he walked through it, watching the butterflies.

But there was always something missing. A tiny thing, always present at the back of his mind, never reachable.

Merlin didn't know what that thing was.

But as he reached the edge of the Garden and looked down over it, seeing the far fields as squares of green and yellow and brown, he wished for one thing. That he could go down there and see it for himself, see the forests and animals, breathe the air that humans breathe. It was forbidden though. No angel but the archangels went down on the Earth. They never interfered.

And Merlin? Oh, Merlin was a very young angel. So young that he didn't even have his own human to protect. His cheeks turned pink as he was thinking about it and his smile disappeared. He longed to have a human to look after. He wanted to know what it felt like to be the big angel on somebody else's shoulders, to be entangled in the life of one human being and be allowed to watch them and watch over them.

He sighed and turned back to the Garden, walking to the middle of it. He looked around at the flowers in bloom and he felt content again. Content with only one thing missing, the thing he couldn't quite put his finger on.

And when he reached the pond in the middle of the beautiful mess of all kinds of trees and bushes, he knelt down and let his fingers brush the water's surface. It felt a little cold. Pure.

It was the only thing in heaven that allowed angels to look down on the Earth as if through a huge magnifying glass. Every angel was connected to their humans mentally (even though the humans didn't usually know that) and they had their own ways to see them (ways that Merlin wasn't allowed to understand quite yet because of his age), but this pond? It was the only thing allowing him to see the trees down on the Earth.

And so he put both his hands into the water and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was staring at a forest with a view of the setting sun in between the trees. It took his breath away. And he didn't even have to say anything to make the image appear! He wasn't quite experienced in using his angelic powers, but he knew usually there was some kind of an incantation.

He watched flies and saw a rabbit hiding in the bushes. Merlin smiled at the size of it. It looked so little, but it was quite big compared to the rabbits Will had described to him. Will was an older angel and Merlin's best friend. He was always patient with Merlin no matter how many stupid questions he asked.

Suddenly, Merlin heard a swift sound pierce through the wind, and as soon as he saw blood on the previously clean brown fur of the rabbit, he knew what happened. Someone put an arrow through the little creature's chest and it made Merlin's eyes prickle with tears.

"Rest in peace, little guy," Merlin whispered as the rabbit stopped breathing and its tiny black eyes closed.

Then the human that was responsible for the rabbit's death came into view. Merlin frowned, only seeing the back of his head. His hair was blonde. And his clothes were red and he had a brown jacket. That was all Merlin noticed until the human turned around and Merlin stopped frowning.

His hair was falling slightly over his blue eyes and forehead, and his face looked... satisfied. Was he so happy because he killed an animal? What kind of human did that?

"That's enough for today, we're heading back. Leon, take the last rabbit. We'll take them to the royal kitchen." The young man said, still managing to keep Merlin's interest.

So they killed the animal for food? Merlin wondered if he could ever do that. Angels didn't need to eat... or sleep.

He kept watching the boy until he arrived with his group of men at a big white castle, and only then Merlin realized that the boy was a prince. He smiled at him and leaned closer to the water, completely forgetting he was still in heaven and no there with the humans. He's never felt this... connected. For a moment, he almost forgot about the missing thing in his heart and he felt... content. As if he didn't need to have a human to protect, as if whether he became a good angel didn't even matter as long as he could stay by the pond and keep watching the prince.

Then suddenly someone laughed, and it took Merlin a minute to realize the sound didn't come from the water. He jumped slightly and looked up, seeing that it was Will. His cheeks turned pink again, but he didn't make the image in the water disappear. Will was his friend after all.

"I thought I'd find you here." Will told him, which made Merlin frown.

"How? I've never been here before."

"That is exactly why." Will sat down next to him. "You're always so curious, Merlin. I knew one day you'd try to use the pond." When Merlin smiled and looked down into the water again, Will followed his gaze. "Ah, Arthur Pendragon."

"Do you know him?" Merlin's smile widened and he sat closer to Will. "He's a prince, isn't he?"

Will nodded. "Yes, he's a prince of one of the kingdoms down there. Camelot. This human will one day become the king as many before him, and he will lead his kingdom to better days."

Merlin grinned, but then his smile wavered a little. He looked down and started playing with his fingers. He didn't know how to approach the subject he wanted to talk about...

"How do..." He started and then closed his mouth again. When he looked up and saw that Will was nodding and patiently waiting for him to continue, it gave Merlin more courage. "How do angels pick their humans? Or are they assigned? Do I get to pick or are there some rules or... how does it all work?"

Will chuckled. "Angels can pick any human to protect unless the human already has their angel." Will explained to him, glancing down at the prince, who was now walking up the stairs inside the castle. "Some angels pick at random, others like to watch humans and then pick one that they feel they should keep an eye on."

Merlin nodded, processing the new information. Then he looked down at the human, Arthur Pendragon, and pursed his lips.

"Does..." he cleared his throat. "Does... he have an angel yet?"

"The prince?" Will smiled. "No, I believe he doesn't." Then he leaned over the edge of the pond and watched Arthur together with Merlin. Merlin could feel that Will was looking at him. "Do you want to become his angel?" Will asked finally, asking the question for Merlin.

The young angel looked up at him and smiled. "I've never felt like this, Will. It's... it's... it's like I just know it's him, you know?" Merlin struggled to explain and laughed a little. "It's just... it's... I don't know what it is. But I feel this sort of connection, as if I..." Merlin stopped talking and frowned. It was as if he wanted to go down there and talk to Arthur and experience what it was like to live like a human being, to be able to sleep and eat and work. It was as if... as if he was supposed to be born down there and instead, by some mistake, ended up in heaven.

He didn't tell this to Will though. "As if I already was his protective angel." He smiled up at his friend.

"I understand." Will patted him on the shoulder. When he stood up, Merlin made the image in the water disappear with his fingers, just as a beautiful dark haired young lady in a green dress came into Arthur's room, and he followed Will into the Garden.

"Believe me, I understand." Will smiled.

And together they walked through the Garden, talking and laughing like always. Merlin couldn't stop thinking about Arthur though because the strange feeling of something quite not right returned.

xoXÖXox

"As a symbol of our goodwill, and of our newfound friendship," king Bayard said to the room full of people, "I present these ceremonial goblets to you, Uther, to your son, Arthur, and to your ward, Morgana, in the hope that our friendship may last."

He gestured with his hand to his servants, who brought the goblets to the three most important people of Camelot. Arthur was quite impressed to see how beautiful the goblets looked as he took his into his hand and quickly looked it over before the servant poured some wine into it.

"The wounds we received in battle... Tonight we toast a new beginning for our peoples. We look towards a future free from the toils of war." Bayard continued.

Arthur forced a smile and raised his goblet into the air, praying that it wouldn't take long until they were allowed to take a sip so his arm wouldn't hurt too much. He hated these ceremonials, but he was the son of the king and there was nothing he could do about it. The only thing he could do to feel better was go hunting. Not for the pleasure of killing animals, he didn't kill them unless he needed to, but at least he wasn't stuck in the enormous castle and felt a little bit free. You know, if he didn't have to have an entire group of knights surrounding him on every step.

"And may the differences from our past remain there. To your health, Uther. " Bayard smiled as everyone stood up to get ready to make a toast. "Arthur," Bayard added and Arthur nodded and brought the goblet to his lips, only to stop as Bayard continued, "The Lady Morgana."

Morgana nodded and Arthur smiled again, this time waiting until Bayard was done with the toast.

"The people of Camelot." Bayard finished. Arthur smiled and put the goblet closer to his mouth and almost spilled it when he had to stop his hand because his father wanted to add something to the toast as well.

"And to fallen warriors on both sides." Uther smiled and raised the cup again, finally, finally taking a sip and Arthur with Morgana followed his example.

Everyone smiled as they sat down again.

Arthur briefly closed his eyes and prayed that this party was soon over so he could go back to his training with his knights. Morgana cleared her throat and Arthur opened his eyes, sighing quietly.

Morgana cleared her throat again, louder, and this time Arthur frowned and looked at her. She was sitting next to Uther, who was sitting between him and her. She clutched her throat and frowned.

"Morgana?" Uther scowled in worry and turned to her, glancing at Bayard. Arthur stood up to see better what was going on, but it was too late. Morgana gasped for air but couldn't. She looked at both Uther and him with panic in her eyes and held her neck with both her arms before she stood up and supported herself with a hand on the table.

"Morgana!" Uther yelled and then turned to the knights, pointing at Bayard. "It's poisoned! Guards, seize him!"

Arthur immediately stood up and ran to Morgana's side, catching her just in time as she fell down, unconscious. Her eyes were moving under her eyelids and she was paler than ever, and Arthur had no idea what to do. Guards were already drawing their swords and pointing them at Bayard and his men, and Uther was looking down at his ward and then with hatred at the other king.

Arthur searched Gaius with his eyes in the room, and thankfully the old physician was already rushing towards him together with Morgana's maidservant.

"Morgana!" Gaius called her name and took her wrist in between his two fingers. Then he placed the back of his hand above her mouth and nodded. "She's alive, but she's struggling to breathe. Arthur, take her to her chambers, Gwen fetch me some water and fresh bandages, they're in my chambers by the window."

The young girl nodded and ran away, just as Uther turned back to Arthur who was already carrying Morgana in his arms. "I'm taking her to her chambers, father." He told Uther, who nodded and looked almost as pale as Morgana.

"Gaius?" Uther looked at his old friend with fear in eyes, and Gaius put his hand on his shoulder.

"I will see what I can do, sire. First, we need to identify the poison and make sure she stays alive."

Uther nodded. "Do your best." Then he turned back to Bayard, but Arthur couldn't hear what he was saying. He was already leaving the room in a hurry, heading towards Morgana's chambers.

When they arrived there, he laid her down on her bed and stepped aside, letting Gaius take a look. Gaius leaned over her and started examining what was wrong, and Arthur turned away in frustration. When he turned back, the young maidservant was just rushing into the room.

"I have the water and bandages." She said as she neared the bed. Gaius nodded and took the bandages, wetting them in the water and then putting them on Morgana's forehead.

"Is she going to be alright?" Arthur asked. Uther walked into the room just in time to hear Gaius' reply.

"She's burning up." Gaius said with a frown.

"You can cure her, can't you Gaius?" Arthur continued as he crossed his arms on his chest.

"I need to identify the poison first, then we'll see." Gaius turned to Gwen and then he looked at Arthur and Uther, who had knelt down next to Morgana's bed and taken her hand into his. "Do you have the goblet?"

Arthur nodded and ran to the door. "Guards! Get Morgana's goblet from the throne room, quickly!" They nodded and ran away, but Arthur still didn't feel better.

He didn't feel better even when the goblet was in Gaius' hands. The old man was examining it until he noticed a petal Bayard left behind as he was lacing the goblet with poison. It was stuck on the inside of the goblet.

"I need to get to my quarters." Gaius said as he was looking at the petal inside the goblet. He didn't dare touch it. "And see if I can identify the flower."

"What about her?" Uther asked immediately, looking up at Gaius.

"There is nothing more I can do until I know what kind of poison this is, my lord." He told him as he bowed. Uther nodded and Gaius left the room, together with Arthur.

They hurried together into the courtyard and then up the tower into Gaius' chambers again. The physician immediately went to his library while Arthur couldn't do anything but wait. Luckily, Gaius knew exactly what book to look for, and soon he laid it open on the table and bowed over it, showing Arthur what flower the petal was from.

"Here," he told him, pointing to the picture of the flower. "The petal comes from the Mortaeus flower. It says here that someone poisoned by the Mortaeus can only be saved by a potion made from the leaf of the very same flower. It can only be found in the caves deep beneath the Forest of Balor. The flower grows on the roots of the Mortaeus tree."

"That's not particularly friendly." Arthur commented, looking at the next picture – a strange creature. He knew there was only one way to save Morgana though and that was to go to the cave and find the flower.

"A Cockatrice." Gaius continued as he pointed at the picture of the monster. "It guards the forest. Its venom is potent. A single drop would mean certain death. Few who have crossed the Mountains of Isgaard in search of the Mortaeus flower have made it back alive."

Arthur only shrugged. "Sounds like fun."

Gaius immediately looked up at him and raised his eyebrow in a frown. "Arthur, it's too dangerous. Uther would never allow it."

"Uther wants to save Morgana." Arthur told him. "What happens to her if I don't get the antidote?"

Gaius pursed his lips. "The Mortaeus induces a slow and painful death. She may hold out for four, maybe five days, but not for much longer. Eventually, she will die."

"Then it's decided." Arthur nodded. When Gaius didn't know what to answer to make him stop, Arthur turned around and started walking towards the door. "I'll be back, hopefully before she dies. I need to be."

"Arthur, this is foolishness!" Gaius called after him. "Go to your father and take your knights with you!"

"There's no time, Gaius!" Arthur said as he closed the door and ran down the stairs until he reached the stables just outside the courtyard. He knew he was acting spontaneously and that he should have talked to his father first just like Gaius had advised him to do, but he knew exactly what his father would say.

That Arthur couldn't go even with a group of knights because the journey was too dangerous and he was the crown prince of Camelot and blah blah blah something about him being too young. Well, how was Arthur supposed to learn how to be a good king if he couldn't even find a simple flower? He needed to grow up and start preparing for what was coming – him being the king and Uther being gone. He couldn't let his father do everything, so he couldn't let a bunch of knights go after the flower without him either. He had to make sure he found it and that he was back in Camelot in time. He couldn't just stay in Camelot and do nothing.

And so he took his horse and within the next ten minutes, he was out of the gates, galloping away into the forest, heading south to the mountains of Isgaard.

It wasn't long until he was surprised by a strange crying girl, sitting all alone on a log. And then by the beast guarding the forest of Balor...

xoXÖXox

Merlin was walking through the Garden again, but it's been a long time since he paid proper attention to the flowers. Lately, his mind was filled with images of the prince, and with theories of how to become his protective angel. Merlin walked around the bushes and under the apple trees with a light smile on his face.

He was heading to the pond again, as he did many, many times before. He already knew the prince was supposed to meet with another king today, he happened to overhear that conversation with the prince's father.

He wouldn't call it stalking. No. He wasn't watching the prince's every move (although he wished he could). More like... an interested observation? Studying humanity?

The young angel sighed as he rounded the last corner before he was supposed to find the pond without any other angels. To his discomfort though, he found at least five of them. They were older, and they were all watching a young dark haired lady with a blue dress who was lying in bed and looked very ill. Merlin saw this because he used his wings to fly over them and look at the surface of the water.

With a silent gasp, he realized it was the king's ward, lady Morgana. He saw her talking to his pri- to the prince a few times before. And the king was sitting next to her, clutching her hand and kissing it with tears in his eyes.

"She's strong, but I still need to help her." He heard one of the older angels say. It was probably Morgana's protective angel Merlin assumed as he saw that the angel closed her eyes and held her hand out towards the image in the water. She started saying something in Latin, using her powers to help Morgana stay alive, but that was all she could do. Merlin knew she couldn't actually use her powers to change things down on the Earth, angels weren't supposed to interfere with humans. Humans weren't even supposed to see them! But angels could help out in little ways, here and there, and hope that humans took care of the rest.

Merlin watched with fascination as the older angel opened her eyes again and looked down at Morgana.

"She seems a little better." Another angel commented, but the first angel was still frowning.

"Barely. Someone must have used magic with the poison." She said with a sigh. "Nimueh." She added.

"Well, for lady Morgana's sake, I sure hope the prince is back with the antidote very soon." Another angel said.

Merlin's eyes widened as he heard that. "The prince?" He asked without thinking and all the angels except for the first one looked up at him.

"What are you doing up there, boy?" One of them asked and Merlin's cheeks turned pink.

"I was curious." He shrugged as he flew back on the ground. They were much taller now... "What happened to her?" He pointed to Morgana in the pond.

Morgana's angel turned to him to answer. "She drank from a poisoned chalice planted there by a witch called Nimueh, instead of the harmless chalice that was supposed to be given to her by one of the kings. And now she's dying."

"And the prince?" Merlin asked, trying to look not at all worried about the young blonde man that he grew to care about so much. "You said he was looking for an antidote?"

"That he is." The second angel said. It was only now that Merlin recognised her as Will's friend Shildre. "He's searching for a flower, but the journey is dangerous. Surely he'll lose his life."

"He's strong too." Merlin defended the young prince and hated that he blushed again when two of the angels raised their eyebrows. Before they could say anything, Merlin added, "he's the prince, he must be."

"Sure." One of them said and then they all looked back into the pond.

Merlin decided not to talk to them again and embarrass himself even more, and so he pretended to walk away but instead hid behind a tree. He wanted to wait until they all left so he could check on Arthur, but they were still not leaving. It was so frustrating! Knowing that the prince was in danger, but all they cared about was the lady Morgana. And Merlin didn't dare go there and demand to see the prince as well.

It took a few hours, but eventually they all left, seeing that Morgana was not getting better, but was not getting worse either. Merlin quickly ran to the pond and immediately touched the water.

An image of the prince soon emerged and Merlin gasped. The prince was in a very dark place. He was hanging off a wall inside a cave, trying very hard to fight off enormous spiders that were coming to hurt him, all while trying to reach a tiny yellow flower.

Merlin gasped as he saw this. He stood up and his heart was beating faster than before. He felt helpless. He wasn't Arthur's protective angel and Arthur wasn't his human. He wasn't supposed to interfere... but perhaps... perhaps he could try to help him? He needed to learn what it was like to have a human to protect, right? And he knew Arthur would be his human anyway, so it didn't matter that he made sure Arthur didn't die before Merlin could actually become his protective angel.

He closed his eyes like he saw the other angel do, and he raised his hand above the water, keeping it also above Arthur's face. He took a deep breath.

"Vires volo ut iam, Uti vires volo bonum. Adiuvare. Volo autem... ehm... Contemnere volumus in spelunca? Facere in gradibus spelunca!" Merlin held his breath for a few seconds so he could concentrate better, but when he looked back at the prince, he was in the same situation as before. Alone.

Merlin really wasn't good with all these incantations. He never knew how to use his powers, but when he did, they always surprised him with their intensity.

"Damn it, Non possum veniat Helias liberans eum!"

Suddenly as if he heard a thunder in the distance, he jumped in surprise and then frowned. Everything was dark and he was cold. The Garden looked... different. And the pond was gone.

Merlin hugged himself and looked around. It must have been because of the forbidden word he used! "No," he eyes widened when he realized he was not in the Garden at all. Where the hell was he?! (He mentally slapped himself for using another bad word, but he was in a kind of a situation here.)

Then he quickly looked up and saw the stars and a few dark clouds flying across the sky. "No. No!" He panicked and turned around, finding no one. He was alone. Just like the prince in the cave.

And judging by the cold and the strange trees all around him and different air... he was on the Earth.

Just as he was about to take his panicking to a higher level, he heard something just from behind a large tree. He heard a sword! As he slowly rounded the tree and frowned, he noticed a big hole in the ground and recognised it as the cave Arthur was trapped in.

A smile replaced the frown on his face. Maybe he could help the prince after all...

TBC

Translation

- "Vires volo ut iam, Uti vires volo bonum. Adiuvare. Volo autem... ehm... Contemnere volumus in spelunca? Facere in gradibus spelunca!" - I wish to use my powers now, I wish to use my powers for good. To help. I wish to... to... ehm... to make light in the cave? To make a staircase in the cave!
- "Non possum veniat Helias liberans eum!" - I can't leave him alone!

Thanks for reading! I really hope you're excited for the next chapter (Arthur and Merlin finally meet, yay)! :D And please leave a review, thanks! ;)