Author: LadyFromPoland

Disclaimer: I don't own "Merlin". It is a TV show which belongs to BBC.

Warning: SLASH

Storyline: This story is inspired by Shrek. Merlin is a lonely warlock who lives in his hut. Arthur is a cursed and imprisoned prince. There's also a talking dragon who can't stop talking about destiny. And Morgana wants to be a queen!

English is not my mother language.

I've had this idea in my mind for a long time. It's going to be an adapted version of Shrek with some significant changes in the plot. What do I mean by that? You'll have to wait to find out!

I hope you'll enjoy the fist chapter!

Home for their hearts

Chapter 01

"The wind of change"

Merlin liked his little hut. Most people would moan about its seize and its poor condition but Merlin found out long time ago that he wasn't most people. He was different. He enjoyed the things that other people avoided. That was one of the reasons of his solitude, though it wasn't the main one. The truth was that Merlin was essentially something that people were afraid of. He was a sorcerer. He had magic.

Although magic wasn't officially forbidden, it was better to hide it. People had their prejudices and fears and no one could help that.

Merlin wasn't able to hide his magic, it was an essential part of his nature, thus he chose solitude. This way he didn't need to worry about people and their prejudices. He didn't have to restrain his magic. It could just flow and flow and flow...

He was absolutely content with his life. It was perfect the way it was.

Merlin didn't want anything to change. Every change carried the risk of being hurt and he'd already had enough pain in his life. There was no need for more.

However, life wasn't that easy. Life was full of surprises.

Merlin didn't believe in destiny. He had once but it seemed like someone else's life.

The destiny, however, was not the question of one's belief. It was real. Merlin didn't need to believe in it but his destiny was awaiting him. It was right there, within his reach.

His adventure was about to start. He didn't know yet that this Sunday afternoon would be so life changing. He was yet to discover that.

The wind of change blew right outside the window.

oOoOo

Arthur groaned but no one could hear him. He hated his life. He hated the stupid castle, his tower and the Dragon that guarded his hermitage.

He was a prince, a knight, a fighter! No one, however, seemed to care about these details. Arthur was fully aware of the curse that was put on him. He wasn't a child and he knew what was considered normal and what wasn't. His father had made a considerable effort to explain it to him. Arthur didn't want to fail him and his future subjects. He gave up his former life, all the things that he truly enjoyed, to live up to their expectations. He agreed to spend as much time as it was necessary in the damn castle, lonely and separated from the rest of the world, though it made him feel a bit like a damsel in distress.

Every time Arthur got really lonely, he tried to recall his mother's smile. It was soothing him. His mother was the only person that would accept him no matter what. Her love was truly that strong. The separation from her was the worst thing that ever happened to him.

The young man sighed looking outside the window. There wasn't much to see there but it was better than the walls of his chamber. When he looked up at the sky, he felt the presence of his mother. She could see the same sun every day and the same stars and the moon every night. Arthur knew that his mother watched the sky every day. She had told him that she would and she asked him to do the same. At times, it felt that they were really close to each other. It almost felt as if she was standing right by his side.

Arthur made himself walk away from the window. He lay down on his bed and started to wonder how his life would look like if the things were different.

oOoOo

Walking was something that Merlin liked doing. He wandered almost every day. The loneliness that was offered by a forest was soothing. Most of the time it was just him and the trees. It felt good and safe.

That afternoon, however, Merlin was not lucky.

He encountered a group of knights. They were gathered around something Merlin couldn't see, talking frantically. Despite the common sense and self-preservation, Merlin came closer to find out what was wrong.

"Is it safe?" asked the smallest of the knights. "Shouldn't we move it farther into the forest?"

"What for?" asked another knight. "This place is perfect. It won't bother anyone, as Lady Morgana commanded."

"He's right. We've got better things to do."

Merlin's eyes went wide when he saw the object of their discussion. The knights carried a cage with a dragon inside. The dragon was quite small and didn't look frightening at all but still it was chained.

"What are you doing?" Merlin couldn't help asking.

The knights looked at him, noticing him for the first time. "And you are?" asked one of them.

"I live here," he said, "in the forest. My name is Merlin."

"So, Merlin... This is none of your business," said the smallest knight.

"But it is," Merlin insisted. "This is my forest."

The knights burst out laughing. "Your forest?" asked one of them, shaking his head in disbelief. "This land, including the forest, belongs to Lady Morgana. We act on her orders."

Lady Morgana. Merlin knew that name very well. She was a powerful sorceress who ruled the land with help of her sister Morgause. Merlin didn't care much about politics but he was aware that the duet Morgana and Morgause meant troubles. Merlin felt deep down that whatever they planned, he wasn't going to like it.

When the knights calmed down, they turned their attention back to the dragon. Merlin watched carefully what they were doing, though he didn't disturb them any longer. Before he could perceive what was going on, the knights let the dragon out and walked away in rush, as if afraid that the creature was about to attack them.

The dragon, however, didn't seem to care about the knights. Instead, it seemed to find Merlin interesting.

"One side of the coin," said the dragon.

Merlin blinked a few times. He wasn't sure if he was completely sane at the moment. He had a feeling that the dragon just spoke to him.

"Destiny," the creature continued, looking at Merlin with curiosity.

"Ex-excuse me?" Merlin asked. "Have you just... spoken... to me?"

"Yes, indeed I have," the dragon confirmed.

Merlin was even more bewildered. "You can talk?" he asked.

"Obviously." Merlin would swear that the dragon rolled its eyes. "You've just heard me talking."

"I'm sorry." Merlin smiled nervously. "I didn't know that dragons could talk."

"Most of us is incapable of talking," the dragon informed him. "At least not in the way that people understand. There are some exceptions, though. I'm one of them," it said proudly. "My name is Kilgharrah, by the way."

"I'm Merlin," he replied automatically.

"I know who you are," said Kilgharrah. "I've heard about your destiny."

"There's no such thing as destiny," Merlin denied.

"Of course there is! You're just yet to discover it."

"Whatever." Merlin didn't care what the dragon was thinking. Kilgharrah could believe in destiny and such things. It wasn't Merlin's business. He just didn't want to have anything to do with it. "It was nice to meet you," he said, "but I'm tired and I want to go home."

"You can go wherever you want," said the dragon. "You won't escape your destiny anyway."

Merlin ignored the creature and walked away. There was no reason to take the dragon's words seriously. There was nothing to be worried about.

oOoOo

Morgana was angry. Her people didn't respect her as much as they were supposed to and she took a great care of them. She was the one who was able to make tough decisions which were necessary for the good of this country. She did everything that a reasonable king would have done. Yet the people did not appreciate that. For them, she was no one. She wasn't their Queen.

Morgause knew her sister very well. She knew her concerns and she was determined to help her.

"Don't worry, sister," she said quietly. "There's always a way..."

Morgana looked at her closely and asked, "have I understood your tone correctly, sister? Do you know a way?"

Morgause smiled at her lightly. "You know me well," she said. "If you want your rule to be stable you need to become a queen. That's obvious... You could just promote yourself to be one but it wouldn't change anything. People would talk... they wouldn't think of you as their Queen..."

"I know that, my dear sister," Morgana said. "I cannot just claim to be the Queen. It would just cause more problems."

"Exactly!" Morgause agreed. "That's why you need to marry a prince!"

"And that's your plan, sister?" Morgana's enthusiasm clearly faded. "Even if I find a prince who would marry me, he would claim to be the ruler of this land. I would just become his trinket."

"I understand your concerns, Morgana. However, you should know me better than that. I would never let this happen." She sighed. "You're powerful. You have magic. You don't need a powerful husband. You need a weak one..."

Morgana raised her right brow. "I assume you have a candidate?"

"Have you heard about Pendragons? And the prince Arthur?" Morgause whispered.

"The name rings a bell," Morgana admitted, "but I don't know why."

"Prince Arthur is imprisoned in the tower with the Dragon as his guardian."

"Do you know why?" asked Morgana.

"I've heard something about the curse but I don't know its nature. Pendragons were too ashamed to share it with the world," Morgause replied. "The point is that prince Arthur is to be imprisoned in the tower until he gets married. It is said that then the curse will vanish."

"Why haven't he married yet, then?"

"No candidates," Morgause explained. "This curse thing is quite shady. They imprisoned him in a rush many years ago. There was no king who would want his daughter to marry him. It was suspicious after all."

"And you're not concerned about me?" Morgana asked, partially teasingly.

"You'll be fine," Morgause assured her. "Besides, it makes prince Arthur weak. He's been imprisoned for years! Making him do what you want will not be a challenge. And his father... His kingdom is far away from here and he's in good health. He'll be a king for many years to come. He won't need his son to take his crown any time soon. It's just perfect."

Morgana smiled at her sister. "I knew you would find a way, sister," she said. "Now we need to find someone who would bring prince Arthur here."

"A tournament?" asked Morgause.

"A tournament."

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