Well, it's about time I wrote for this fandom. I've had this lying around for ages, and I finally got around to posting it now. This is an AU in which Gwaine is Merlin's older brother, because I've always felt that they have that sort of relationship in the show and because I just thought it would be really cute. Well...it's not cute right now, I'm afraid, but it should be later!

Enjoy!

-Marcelle

People feared what they didn't know. They couldn't accept what they couldn't wrap their heads around, and they were terrified of the unexplained. So it only made sense to Gwaine that the people of Elador would fear magic.

Magic was capable of things they could never dream of, wonders they could never find it in themselves to fathom. It made sense, but Gwaine despised it with every fiber in his being.

He hated that the people's minds were set in stone, forbidding them from giving magic even the slightest glimmer of a chance. It scared them, and they wanted nothing to do with it. Just like their king.

Their hatred was what made Elador, a small and quiet village, such a dangerous place for Gwaine and his family. Because his little brother was born of magic, a magic so strong that it was still beyond his control. But Merlin was so small, so innocent and hopeful, and it pained Gwaine to see him punished for a gift he had never been given a say in.

Merlin only wanted Elador to accept him, but Gwaine knew they were far from allowing anyone like him a place in their community. Because people feared what they didn't know, and they would certainly never know Merlin.

Gwaine heard the shouts before Hunith had even set foot in his bedroom. He sat straight up at the noise, eyes wide as his little brother, still half asleep, was thrust into his arms.

"Mother-what-?" he started to question as his mother frantically rushed about the room, stuffing various articles of clothing into a burlap sack.

"He's done something. Merlin. I'm not sure what it was, but they think it was him, and they want him dead," she managed to gasp out an explanation amidst her panic. Gwaine scrambled out of the bed, careful not to disturb Merlin as he stood by the door.

"No...no, they can't! He's only six, he can't control it, surely they must know that!" he reasoned, but the angered threats reaching his ears from outside told a much different story. They wanted to kill Merlin. His sweet baby brother, who wouldn't dare hurt a single living thing.

What could he have possibly done?

"Gwaine, you have to take Merlin and leave. Now. Neither of you can remain here, it's too dangerous," his mother ordered, strapped the now tightly filled sack onto his back before grasping his shoulders, urgency digging into her grip. Her eyes met his, filled with a terror that suddenly made the situation very, very real.

"W-Where shall we go?" he asked, almost desperately. Never before had Gwaine seen his calm, rational mother as terrified as she was now, but he certainly couldn't blame her. His own heart was beating far faster than he knew to be healthy, and his mind was racing with the adrenaline that fear brought him.

"Camelot. It's the best chance you have. I have a brother there, Gaius, just ask for him when you get there," Hunith replied shakily, nodding slightly as the shouts grew louder. Gwaine winced at the intensity of the words, utterly despising the fact that they were aimed at Merlin.

His only solace laid in his brother's sleeping form. Merlin hadn't mumbled a word through the whole ordeal, so Gwaine could only hope that his little brother had drifted off like the heavy sleeper he usually was.

His worries only grew, however, at the mention of their intended destination. Camelot was the center of the next kingdom, where King Uther rested on his bigoted throne. He was the undisputed largest opponent to magic, a man who would have Merlin executed the moment the little boy's eyes started to glow. How would they be safe there?

There were a million points Gwaine could have argued, but he knew it was far from the place or time. Merlin's life was at stake, and Gwaine's only priority, just as always, was to protect him.

"Alright. Camelot it is, then," He gave Hunith a small, sad smile, if only as an attempt to reassure her. But his efforts procured only the response he had wanted to avoid in the first place, and he cursed himself as tears began to pool in his mother's eyes. "Mother, it'll be alright, trust me. You know I wouldn't let anything happen to him."

"I...I know," Hunith agreed, pulling her boys into a final embrace. "You'll do what you can. Just don't let anything happen to you, either, Gwaine."

"You know me, the epitome of caution," Gwaine weakly played at humor before quickly realizing it would do much more harm than good. "I promise, Mother. You'll hear from us soon. I swear it."

"I'd better," she managed to reply, forcing a smile before gently shoving Gwaine towards the back door. He hesitated for a moment, pausing as the implications of their journey hit him with full force. It was going to be dangerous, the peril only growing with each step they took towards their destination. But it was worth it, for Merlin.

Gwaine would not let his little brother fall prey to the wrath of a prejudice and unforgiving public, one that had never wanted him and one that would never see him for who he really was. Gwaine knew who he was, and he deserved nothing of what these people wanted for him. And so Gwaine opened the door.