Out of Time

By: xStarletx

A/n: So It's BAAAACCCKKKKK and it's new and improved. I'm in the process of rewriting the whole thing, not only is it going to be in the past but there will be some future parts with future Merlin and it's promising to be a great epic. Pretty please review, as it motivates me to get things up faster :D I hope I still have readers.

Prologue: Out of Fire

The Day was light and airy, the breeze smelt of summer flowers and the sun drifted in through the leaves painting the forest path a warm green color. Prince Arthur walked along the path, he strode light and without purpose for today he was wandering and he had nowhere to go. He wore a light red tunic and his plain brown pants, he wasn't dressed for grandeur because this was the kind of day where Arthur could forget about his duties, his kingdom and that he was a prince. These were the few blessed moment where he could pretend he was normal and he cherished that.

He liked the feel of the breeze playing with his blond hair, probably making him look uncouth and uncivilized and he smiled at the thought. He often wondered what it was like to be a commoner and he often assumed that it just meant he would be dirty and than he was grateful for being born a royal.

He found the lake and chose to walk along the shore. The water was sparkling in the daylight like a freshly cut sapphire. The waters were calm and the bugs were buzzing, he could hear the fish splashing among the reeds and all of it was calming against the stressed nerves of the Crown Prince. Knowing that he would have to return soon was saddening so he chose to ignore it and continue around the lake, deciding that once he walked all around the lake he'd head back to the castle.

He had almost made a full circle when someone stepped in front of him. It was a pretty dirty looking man, most likely a peasant. His clothes were common and loose, but what alarmed Arthur was the sword he held in his hands. Arthur took a step back a hand on the hilt of his own sword. He glanced around and saw foure men step out of the bushes and all of his training sprang to life in his mind.

They all had crude weapons in their hands, each looked as poor and dirty as their leader. "Arthur Penndragon," the leader said bowing lowly in a mocking manner. "I know many who would pay for your head."

The leader took a step forward, his hand wavering back and forth in his hand. Arthur took a precautionary step back while unsheathing his sword. "I daresay you'll have a right hard time parting me from my head. I'm rather attached to it," Arthur warned him.

It was common knowledge that he was the most skilled warrior in Camelot, and it was only fair that he gave this leader a chance to turn and run. Regardless the leader lunged forward swinging his word in Arthur's general direction not a single bit of finesse in the movement. It was easy for Arthur to block it and even easier to force the leader back half a step.

From his right a man lunged and Arthur side stepped him sending the man crashing into the shallow reedy part of the lake. One man from behind swung a club at Arthur's head. Arthur ducked before jumped forward and forcing his shoulder into his stomach. It would be easy to kill these men but Arthur wanted to avoid that, they weren't necessarily bad people just misguided. He wanted to give them a chance to escape instead of ruthlessly slaughtering them all.

There was a crunch of booted feet on the ground close to him and Arthur turned in time to block the arching swing from the leader. Arthur was off balance however and the sheer power behind the swing forced him down to one knee to keep the blade for embedding in his collar. The leader paused and raised his sword above himself as Arthur struggled to right himself so this blow wouldn't kill him and there was a sudden crackle.

It was like lightening flashing through the sky but there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. They both turned and found that the lake was bubbling and above it was a rippling image. In a second there was a flash closely followed by a loud boom and then something sprung forth from the image. Whatever it was it crashed right into the leader with such force and speed that he was knocked off his feet and out cold.

The other men stood in silence as the ripple vanished. There were cries of witchcraft and sorcery and then they all turned and fled leaving their defenceless leader to fend for himself. Arthur got on his feet and hazarded a step towards the leader and the person who had landed on top of him and found it to be a girl... maybe.

She was wearing the garb of a man, black pants made of a fabric he had never seen before a strange sleeveless shirt with lace see-through and black down the side of it. Her shoes seemed normal but they were made out of some strange materials he had never seen before. Her hair was even cut in that of a man's, shoulder length glossy raven colored hair, pin straight and framing her pale face. But he could tell that she was a woman, the mounds heaving up and down as she took in ragged breaths were a clear sign that this was in face a female.

He groaned and sat up, rubbing her hip like it hurt and Arthur realized that that must have been the impact point. glanced over to Arthur with squinted eyes of pain and took note of the swords in his hands.

She pointed at him crying out wildly as she scrambled to get on her feet. "What the hell?" she cried. She turned again and saw the man that she had collided with and took a step away from him. "Oh, my God!"

She whirled around taking in the trees and the lake and seemed to be completely confused about her surroundings. "What— Wait! This isn't London!" she cried. She turned to Arthur and he could finally see the color of her eyes. A blue, as crystal clear as the water had been that morning, like sapphires shining at him. He was lost in her eyes and it was the sound of the panic in her voice that brought him back to reality.

"Where am I? She asked him. She took a step forward and Arthur raised the sword that had drooped in his hand. Instantly she took a step back.

He continued to look her up and down, she certainly didn't look like a witch but one couldn't be too careful with magic. She was looking him up and down as well, she gestured to him before asking: "Why are you dressed like you work at Medieval World?"

Arthur's eyes narrowed at her, that tone insinuated that this Medieval World was a place to be ridiculed. The fact that she was inferring that he worked there was insulting to him, even if he didn't know what it was. "How did you come through a magic portal?" he shot back.

The girl stared at him, her eyebrows furrowed together momentarily before she mockingly raised an eyebrow in a quizzical manner. She was looking at him like he was crazy. "A magic portal?" she asked. "What the bloody-hell are you on about?"

Arthur pointed the sword at her throat as she scrambled back on him and he advanced on her. "You're not a witch are you?" he growled. "I mean, if you are, you're not a good one!"

The girl just continued to stare at him, her mouth open in shock and horror and he sighed. "Fine, where are you from, maybe I can help you get back there."

"London," she said firmly crossing her hands over her chest, now that she was standing he could see that her shirt bared a lot more skin than he anticipated, he could see the top of something underneath probably binding for her breasts, odd he had never seen that vibrant a color of pink before.

She snapped her fingers at him pulling his eyes away from her chest and noted that the look on her face was one of disgust. "My eyes are up here," she snarled hiding her bosom from him. "Now, where am I?"

"Albion," Arthur growled not liking this girl's attitude. "You're right outside of Camelot."

At this the girl laughed and Arthur was surprised. "Oh right. Are you pulling my leg? Camelot? The city of Legend? All those Arthurian tales? Knights of the round table and other such myths?" she asked with a jolly smile on her face.

Arthur blinked her eyes at her confused he had never heard of round tables or myths, but he hadn't been lying about the name of his city. She frowned at him. "No, None of it's real. It's all fairy tales!"

"My name is Arthur Penndragon and I can swear to you, even show you that Camelot is real not a mere legend," he growled.

The girl scoffed. "Oh great, I'm with a psycho who thinks he's King Arthur. Lovely."

"I'm not king yet, I'm just Prince Arthur at the moment," he said crossly. "Am I taking you to Camelot or not?"

"Sure, fine, show my your Camelot," she said with a roll of her eyes. "But if you try anything buddy I will honestly kick your butt!"

Arthur shook his head at her and side stepped around her to lead her through the forest. He shot a glance over his shoulder to her taking in her clothes and he paused. "I can't bring you into Camelot like that, we'll have to get you a change of clothes first."

The girl huffed at him, her hands on her hips now as she tapped her foot impatiently in the dirt. "Oh? And why is that?"

"We don't like magic here. If my father finds out about the circumstances of your arrival he'll execute you for sure," Arthur answered.

The girl rolled her eyes. "For the love of god, I am not a witch," she growled. She pointed a slim finger at him and said: "You need professional help, you know that?"

Arthur shook his head but they continued on down the path. After a moments of silence with the girl following in his footsteps she suddenly cleared her throat. "So... you said you were a prince?" she asked.

"Yes, I am Crown prince," he answered slowly. "If you're not a witch what are you? A mercenary?"

The girl laughed a hollow scoffing chuckle. "I'm a waitress. I serve people food for a living."

Arthur turned back to her looking her up and down once again. "You're a Tavern Wench? In that outfit? You must not get many tips."

The girl scowled again. "Those are some pretty heavy insults you're throwing at someone you barely know," she snarled to him. "You're lucky you have a sword and I think you're crazy otherwise I would have blackened one of your eyes by now."

Arthur nodded stoically. "You are right. I do not know you. What is your name then?"

The girl pushed past him and followed the dirt path "My name is Addison," she answered.

"Alright Addison, and where do you think you're going?" he wondered.

"I am following this path to civilization and I am leaving your crazy ass behind," she growled stomping through the bushes.

Arthur chuckled but followed closely after her. He watched as she hiked through the brush. She stumbled over every twig and over turned root, actually falling sometimes. She jumped at every leaf that touched her skin and she considered every noise a threat.

She jumped at the sound of a rabbit dashing through the grass and she yelped again whirling around and grabbing onto him, shielding her face with his shoulder. Arthur sighed and narrowed his eyes at her. "For someone who claims to be a serving wench you sure do act like a pampered princess," he said.

Addison shoved him away from her before stumbling her way out of the trees and out onto the openness of the dirt road. "Well, what do you expect?" she snarled. "I'm a city girl. You know running water, paved roads, working electricity and wifi. I don't do nature or roughing it."

Arthur's eyes narrowed at the unfamiliar words. "What do you mean?" he wondered. "I do not understand how you can go from talking about rivers and then something about your roads and what is electicitry and why-fy?"

Addison turned to him her eyes wide with shock. "Oh, wow, complete dedication to the role huh?" she asked. "I commend you for the accuracy but this means you are one seriously grade-A psycho."

Arthur continued to follow her as she climbed up the hill. She got the top before him, and she was out of breath indicating that walking wasn't something she did on a regular basis and it made him wonder how someone like her could be out of shape. She had paused though and she had gone rigid and as he climbed the hill to stand beside her he could see the full horror illuminated on her face as she looked around.

She pointed at the castle walls in front of her and she took a hesitant step back. "What the hell is that?" she cried. "It's... it's..."

"That's Camelot," Arthur finished for her.

Addison shook her head back and forth big dew drop like tears forming in her eyes. "Oh no, no, no, no, no, this cannot be happening. Where am I?" she cried.

"I just told you that you're in Camelot, what are you not understanding?" Arthur asking trying to grab a hold of her and keep her still but she kept throwing off his hands and backing away from him.

"No! This isn't real!" she screamed. She began to look around wildly, her chest heaving her tears falling from her eyes. "So what? I'm in another dimension? I time travelled?"

Arthur shrugged not understanding what she was saying. Her tears were larger now, she looked him in the eye her lip trembling for the first time she looked vulnerable and scared. "How do I get home?" she asked.

Arthur's heart melted as she collapsed to the dirt gasping for air as she sobbed. He knelt down beside her. "I don't know how," he said putting a hand on her knee. "But I can promise you that until I find a way to send you back home I will protect you, keep you safe, give you a place to stay."

Addison looked up to him, her eyes shining with the bright light of hope. "You... you promise?" she asked sniffing lightly.

"You have my word as Crown Prince," he said solemnly.

She answered him by launching herself f at him wrapping her arms around his neck. It was completely brazen and unceremonious and there wasn't a thing that could stop him from holding her back. An unfamiliar feeling settled into this chest. He didn't know it but those words were a vow, an everlasting bond forming between him and her. It was a bond that could never be broken, not by anyone, or any force, including time, magic and death.