Merlin thought the day had started out normal enough. He had come back home late, as per usual, because of the latest mess Arthur had gotten himself and, by association, Merlin in.

See, Merlin's family, unlike most people he knew, was remarkably big and complicated. His father, Balinore, had abandoned Merlin at a young age when he learned that his wife, Hunith, was friends with his arch enemy, Uther. After he left, Hunith was a mess and whose shoulder did she choose to cry on? Uther's, of course. During the months that followed, Hunith and her son moved into Uther's large home and Merlin was forced to spend most of his time with Uther's son, Arthur, and adopted daughter, Morgana.

Arthur, at first disliked Merlin because he did not seem to worship him like everyone else. Then he started teasing him, making him the damsel when they played Knights and Dragons (something Merlin didn't exactly enjoy). Eventually, they became an odd sort of friends, with Merlin telling Arthur things he had told no one else, and Arthur protecting Merlin from the neighborhood bullies that seemed to bother him most days.

Morgana, on the other hand, had taken an instant liking to the peculiar young boy and made it her mission to embarrass him more than Arthur. After all, he had always had a very pretty blush. That was why, at the ages of five (Merlin), six (Arthur), and eight (Morgana), Merlin was forced into a dress and decorated in make up stolen from Hunith's purse.

The poor boy was then shoved into Uther's room (as that was where his mother and their father usually went). That was when he first saw Uther and his mother kissing and laughing and generally being happy. Merlin was confronted by several feelings at once. Of jealousy, because he could not make his mother that happy, of hurt and betrayal, then abandonment, and finally the cold feeling of being lonely and lost. He was alone now. In his pain and fear. In begin unhappy and lost.

Finally, Hunith and Uther seem to notice him.

"Um...Hunith, why is your son in a dress?", Uther asked, trying to suppress the laugh that threatened to come from seeing the small pale child in a dress. Hunith, on the other hand was far beyond trying to hide her amusement, as she was now rolling on the bed, laughing and clutching her stomach desperately. Eventually, when she had calmed down enough, she asked, "Merlin, why are you in a dress?"

Merlin then promptly burst into tears. Hunith immediately reached out for her child, who cringed away from her and ran from the room. She turned to Uther, who was just as confused and worried as her. They ran after him to find him in a corner in the attic closet with Arthur and Morgana hugging him and attempting to get him to talk. They got there in time to here him say to Arthur, "Mum doesn't love me no more, Arfur! She's left me for your Papa..."

Hunith ran forward and picked her child up, hugging him, rocking him, patting his back and assuring him in a soothing voice that no one was leaving anybody for anything. As he calmed down, she smiled.

"Why did you say I was leaving you, Merlin?"

"Because I saw you and Mr. Pemrafen kissing and hugging and smiling and...you don't smile at me like that...I just felt so alone that..."

Hunith felt tears spilling down her cheeks as she hugged her child to her and they cried together. Then she smiled and gave him the news.

"Well, you won't be alone anymore!"

Merlin looked up hopefully. "Really?"

"You betcha, little man. Wanna know why?"

Merlin nodded eagerly. "Because...Uther and I area getting married!"

It was silent before three pairs of wide, confused, and worried eyes turned to the two proud adults standing before them. "What?"

AN:

Yet again, another unfinished multi-chapie :P One of these days, I'll finish one of my fics. Yep, that'll be the day. Anyway, this ones got quite a lot to explain in it. Like why Merlin is 5, can not pronounce either Arthur (Arfur) or Pendragon (Pemrafen). BUT! He is capible of having long sentances in his dialoge. Anyway, at the beginning, as you may have noticed, he was not 5. Everything under that first paragraph pretty much explains Merlin's wierd, complicated family. But that isn't the premises of the story. That comes in the next chapter, which has yet to be typed by yours truely, but soon, my loves, soon!

The three Rs of life: Read, Rate, & Review. Please do!

I wish you fun, food, and tons of freetime!

Sarcastically, Pans