Okay, so this is my latest story. It has some Merthur and maybe some Morgana/Gwaine. If you have ever watched the 10th Kingdom, this is definitely a Merlin AU of that. (Because I just really love the 10th Kingdom). This is going to be a long story, so I might split it into two parts. Enjoy and review! (Oh, and if you have seen the 10th Kingdom, no commenting with spoilers!)

Merlin watched as the sun set over the forest outside his window. Well, if Central Park really counted as a forest. He supposed that he should count himself lucky; not many people get the chance to live so close to the park, especially on a waiter's pay. His brother, Gwaine, was the janitor of the building, which was the only way they afford to live there. The owner of the building, Agravaine De Bois, always had him running around doing odd jobs, threatening eviction if they were completed in an unreasonable amount of time.

The raven-haired boy looked away from the window and glanced down at his watch. He cursed as he threw on his dark blue hoodie and grabbed his bike, running out the door and down the hall to where his brother was attempting to fix the elevator. "Hey, you mind giving me a ride down? I'm running late."

Gwaine turned to him and motioned to some exposed wires. "Look at this. How do they expect me to fix this? This is an electrician's job. I have no idea what I'm doing. I have half a mind to go up to De Bois and give him a piece of my mind!"

Merlin chuckled as he boarded the elevator. "Yes, but then you would get fired, we would get evicted and then we'd be forced to move back in with Gaius." The brothers shuddered at the thought. They both loved their uncle like a father, him having raised them since Merlin was seven and Gwaine was twelve, but he had a bad habit of pestering them about not having their lives together; telling Merlin that his dreams to open his own restaurant in Central Park were unrealistic or scolding Gwaine about flunking out of business school.

"Yeah, well it might be worth it just to see the look on Agravaine's face. Stupid ol' velociraptor." Gwaine muttered as the elevator doors closed.

"Hey, don't expect me back too early. I'm covering the night shift for Will." Merlin reminded him. "There's some leftover lasagna in the fridge for dinner. Let it thaw out before put it in the oven and please try not to set the kitchen on fire again."

"Aw, you worry about me, little brother?"

Merlin scoffed. "I worry about having to buy a new countertop."

The doors opened and Merlin pushed his bike out into the lobby. "Hey! On the way back, use the stairs, just in case." Gwaine called after he younger brother. "And be careful going through the park, alright?"

Merlin gave a slight nod in response and rolled his eyes at his brother's concern. What could possibly happen?

The royal carriage cut across the countryside at the edge of the 4th kingdom. Inside sat Princess Morgana, the last living member of the House of White, looking dreadfully bored as she stared out the window. "Where are we going again?" she asked her maid Grunhilda for the fourth time.

"We are on our way to Beantown to accept the throne they made for your coronation," she explained, ignoring the princess' irritated huff. "But first we have to make a stop at the Snow White Memorial Prison. Your stepmother has made a request for parole, which we'll deny of course." Grunhilda added quickly, seeing Morgana's worried expression. "Don't worry, dearie. We'll be in and out in no time and then off to get the throne."

They were both silent for a moment before Morgana let out a whine."Ugh, I hate being in the outer provinces." she complained, rolling her eyes and pushing a piece of ebony hair behind her ear. "It's so boring."

Grunhilda popped the princess on the knee and gave her a stern look. "It's a necessary evil if you're going to rule this kingdom."

"Just let me know when we arrive at the prison." Morgana muttered, laying her head back and closing her eyes.

The sound of clacking shoes echoed through the prison halls, drawing the attention of two guards who suddenly found themselves unconscious with a cloud of dust. Cenred, the troll king, smirked as he picked the keys off one of the men. Though his magic shoes made his feet ache something terrible, the invisibility they provided made him feel unstoppable. He reached the cell at he was looking for and unlocked the door, sneering at the three younger trolls sitting worriedly inside. Sophia, the only girl, jumped back, startling her brothers.

"What's going on?" Valiant, who the largest of the three, demanded as he tried to look intimidating. Cenred removed the shoes and shook his head with shame.

"You are pathetic." He scolded, entering the cell. "You call yourselves trolls?"

The three looked to their feet with disappointment. "Sorry, Dad." Cedric, the youngest and smallest of them, muttered.

"This is the last time I come and rescue you; do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir." The three proclaimed in unison. The king turned and led his children away from the cells, suddenly stopping as he felt a presence enter his mind.

Come to me. A female voice echoed in his head. Come to me…

Cenred followed the voice down a nearby corridor, his children following closely behind. They made their way through a maze of hallways and cellblocks until they came to a long corridor one cell at the very end. Sophia, Valiant and Cedric all stopped and exchanged worried looks at the sign that read "Maximum Security Wing." Cenred, on the other hand, continued.

"Dad!" Valiant called in a loud whisper as the troll king stopped at cell. "Dad, what are you doing? That's where they keep the queen!"

Cenred ignored his children's protests and opened the cell door to find a beautiful woman with dark hair and bright blue eyes smiling evilly up at him.

The carriage pulled up in front of the prison and Morgana felt an icy chill crawl up her spine. Noticing her discomfort, Grunhilda placed a comforting hand on the princess' shoulder.

"Why don't I go in and tell them we've arrived?" she suggested.

Morgana nodded quickly, not taking her eyes off of the stone building in front of her. There was nothing to worry about. The queen was locked away, as she had been for many years now. There was no way she could escape; Morgana knew that for a fact. Then why are you so terrified? She asked herself, feeling the chill on her spine grow.

After several minutes of waiting for Grunhilda to return, Morgana began to get agitated.

Maybe I should go in and check on her. She thought, climbing out of the carriage and slowly walking towards the entrance. Just to make sure that everything is okay.

She pushed the door open with a creak and tiptoed inside, aware that the front hall was much quieter than usual.

"Hello?" she whispered, glancing around for any sign of her maid. "Grunhilda?"

The door closed behind her and she screamed at the sight of the chubby old maid skewered into the wall by a sword. She felt strong arms grasp her arms as three young trolls appeared out of nowhere, taunting her as they threw her around. The troll king stood by and grinned as his children attacked the Crown Princess of the 4th kingdom.

"That's quite enough." A silky voice ordered from the top of the stairs.

Morgana looked up fearfully at her evil stepmother, Queen Nimueh, as she descended down the stairs with a large black dog at her side. "You've wandered a little far from your castle, haven't you Morgana? Perhaps you should have stayed there." The queen was now standing right in front of her, grinning in amusement. "My silly little stepdaughter…"

Morgana clenched her jaw and stared defiantly at the witch. "Whatever it is that you're planning, you won't get away with it. I will stop you."

Nimueh threw back her head and let out a laugh. "Is that so? Because, you see, I believe that you will be begging at my feet for food." Morgana watched as the queen knelt down next to her dog and began to scratch behind its ear. "Do you know what this is, little princess? It's a magical dog."

She rose up from the floor. "I hope you like dogs, Morgana. You'll spend the rest of your life as one."

Morgana's eyes widened as the dog bounded towards her and placed its paws on her chest. The air glittered with magic as the walls around her grew taller and her dark hair began to spread across her body. Her fingers and toes began to grow into her hands and feet, and a tail began to appear behind her, and the next thing she knew, she was on all fours, looking up at… herself.

Nimueh and the trolls all joined in a chorus of taunts and laughs. "Come now, Morgana. Surely you don't greet people on all fours?"

The princess tried to respond, but all that came out was howls and growls. Morgana looked over at the other her, the Dog Morgana, who was now running around herself looking lost and confused. She turned her attention back to the trolls, who were coming towards her, ready to grab her. She quickly darted out of the corridor, taking them by surprise.

"What are you waiting for? AFTER HER!" The queen ordered. Sophia, Valiant and Cedric hurriedly ran after the dog, not wanting to face the queen's, or their father's, wrath.

"She can't escape!" Cedric reassured. "We're in a prison."

Taking the cell keys, Nimueh walked through one of the cell blocks, searching for someone who could be of more use than the troll king's idiotic children. Ignoring the cries to be set free, her eyes scanned around the inmates, stopping when they spotted a handsome man with golden blonde hair watching her quietly from his cell. "You." The queen smirked as she approached.

The man smiled nervously. "Hello."

Nimueh pursed her lips, sensing that there was something different about him. "What are you?"

"Me?" he began to stammer, pawing behind his ear. "An innocent man, falsely imprisoned on a trumped up-"

"Do not make me ask again."

He bit his lip and glanced around. "Half-wolf." He answered, his eyes lighting up like a wolf's before returning to their natural periwinkle. The queen slid the key into the lock on the door and stared at the man.

"If I release you, you must swear to serve me without question. Do you understand?"

The man nodded. "I am your wolf. Loyalty is my middle name."

"I have turned Princess Morgana into a dog. You will find her before the trolls."

Nimueh pushed opened the door and the wolf gave her a low bow. "Arthur Pendragon. At your service, my queen."

Nimueh laid her hand on his head and smirked. "Give me you will, to summon and control you." she ordered.

Arthur hesitated. For a split second, the queen believed that he would refuse, but the wolf looked into the witch's eyes and nodded.

"Good. Now go!"

Arthur darted out of the cell, following the smell of dog through the prison and down into the cellar, rolling his eyes when he encountered three confused trolls standing at a fork in the passage.

"Out of my way, idiots." He mocked, pushing past them and down the corridor with the correct scent, coming to a halt at a large room cluttered with junk. A black Labrador stood in the center, staring into at a full-length mirror with a golden border on the far wall.

Arthur tilted his head curiously, noticing that instead of the dog's reflection, the mirror showed images of a different world; one with tall buildings decorated with strange lights that stood out against the night sky. The image shifted to a large forest with multiple paths cutting across it. A figure with raven hair came into view, riding a strange contraption.

"Huff puff, what do we have here?" the wolf murmured, drawing the princess' attention to him. Before Arthur could stop her, she made her escape, jumping through the mirror and into the strange world. Hearing the trolls coming up the corridor, Arthur leapt in after her.

Merlin was pretty much on auto-pilot the entire ride to work, thinking about everything from the possibility of Gwaine losing his job to the possibility of him getting fired for being ten minutes late for work. Suddenly, his bike lurched and he was thrown over the handlebars, faceplanting the sidewalk. He let out a low groan as he stood up from the cement and looked around at the damage. The front wheel was bent, meaning he was going to have to walk to work and back, but that wasn't the worst part. A pit opened in his stomach when he spotted a black lab lying motionless in front of his bike.

"Oh my god, I've killed it." He whispered, rushing over to the poor animal's side. The pit was filled with relief when the dog slowly raised her head and looked at him.

"Aw, are you okay?" the raven-haired boy asked, scratching her behind the ear. He searched for a way to identify the animal, but she was missing a collar and there was no one around to have gotten away from.

A loud howl echoed over the trees, reminding Merlin that he was alone in the middle of Central Park at night. He stood up and patted the dog affectionately.

"Come on. I'll bring you to my work and get you some food." He picked his bike up off the sidewalk and limped the rest of the way to work, unaware that the granddaughter of the great Snow White was trotting just beside him.