Something Wonderful (Merlin x F! Reader) (Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarves)

Chapter Three

Merlin's POV
"You're joking, right?"
The rest of the group had already started making their way back home, but Jack had pulled me behind.
"Well, do you see me slapping my knee and doubling down in laughter?" I smirked, but Jack didn't seem as amused as I did. I frowned.
"Do you know how much trouble we could get into with the king? We could be executed for harboring a fugitive!"
"Relax, Jack," I put my hand on his shoulder, to which he frowned and whipped his cape, my hand loosing its place.
I continued; "It's not like anybody knows what she looks like, except us seven." I looked over to the front of the group to see (y/n) making acquaintances with the rest of the group. She seemed so enthralled with what she was talking about. It must've been her cartography techniques, because she perked up with an idea and took the rocks she used to draw with in the cave out of her pocket, then began to mime a sketch into the air. Pino, Noki, and Kio seemed to be just as interested in the process.
"Oh, my."
I turned to Jack, whose face had shifted from disgust to amusement.
"You're in love with her."
"What? No!" I immediately denied his statement. "How could I be in love with her? I just met her!"
"No, no, I get it. You just met her. But she's cute," he shrugged and crossed his arms. "So if you won't be making a pass on her like I assumed you were, I'll have to do so for myself."
He began to walk towards the group, but I almost instinctively grabbed his cloak and pulled him back. He turned around and gave me a devilish smirk.
I groaned and pinched my forehead in frustration. "Fine. I suppose I do have an attraction to her in there somewhere," I tried to avoid Jack's infamous 'I told you so' expression. "But that's not the only reason I hired her, Jack. You should have seen the drawings she made of the island. With her skill of cartography on hand we could make serious improvements to our strategy."
"That's a fair point," Jack rubbed his chin. "Alright, I can deal with it."
"I didn't really ask for your opinion Ja-"
"But if she gets in the way of your performance I'm calling it. We can't have anyone on this team distracted from our real mission: helping people."
I looked at (Y/N), full of hope.
I knew I wouldn't get distracted. I finally had someone to fight for.

(Y/N)'s POV
I couldn't believe it. I was going to have a home! A bed, a place to work-
Oh my gosh.
I can eat without stealing.
I could barely contain my excitement, which was surprising because just a few minutes ago I was  under the impression that I had been arrested.
The big one who had tackled me earlier jogged up to my side and walked with me, and I looked over at him. He was still a little shaken up by my attack earlier, I could tell by his obvious discomfort while he spoke.
"So... how long have you been doing this for?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
"My whole life, basically," I started. Before I could continue, though, I felt more eyes on me.
Six more pairs, to be exact.
I turned around to see all of the boys watching me, invested in the story I was about to tell.
"Huh," I bit the inside of my cheek. I'd never had this much positive attention on me.
"Let's go home first, then I can go into more detail."
~*~
The redhead walked over to me and placed a beautiful teacup on the table where I sat. The steam coming from the drink was incredibly comforting.
"Thank you...?" I looked at him and raised my eyebrows in a gentle manner of asking his name.
"Hans, milady."
"Hans! Thank you." I looked around the table and realized I hadn't been acquainted with any of them, actually.
"Oh, I feel horrible. I think in all of the chaos I forgot to ask all of your names," I frowned, hoping they'd take it lightly.
Luckily, they did, and all went around the table to introduce themselves.
The triplets introduced themselves as Pino, Noki, and Kio, which I found adorable.
The brawn of the group was Arthur, which seemed fitting for some reason.
The blonde told me his name was Jack. He waltzed over and took my hand in his, planting a soft kiss upon it. It seemed to strike a nerve with the boy who invited me into the group. Interesting.
"Merlin," the boy introduced himself. I smiled a little and nodded. He seemed to lose his frustration towards Jack and softened his face to return the smile, a hint of rose poking out on his cheeks.
"Well," I took a deep breath. "It really all began when I was a baby. I was brought to an orphanage and lived out most of my childhood there. But, I wanted more. I knew nobody was coming back for me. Apparently when my real parents dropped me off they had gone mad and said they couldn't keep me because a witch had put a curse on me, but I was just fine throughout my time there, so they must have gone mad or something. Also, nobody really comes for the older kids. So I left.
"I didn't have much on me. About enough money to get me through my first month on my own. That's when I started stealing. I wasn't very good at first, so I decided that I needed a strategy for each town. I read up on criminals and found that they normally would use a city's weakness as a vantage point; Their loyalty to their superiors, something sacred to their religion. But I didn't want to hurt anybody or make myself out as a monster. So I used their architectural flaws. Maybe a cart that would break under too much pressure, or a pole sticking out of a building that I could climb onto. That way I could avoid hurting anyone trying to stop me but still make it out."
"Wow," I heard the boys murmur a bit at my story.
"Sorry if that was a bit much," I frowned a little. "It's a lot to take in."
"No need to apologize, (y/n)."
I turned my head to see Merlin. He had reached out and put his hand on top of mine to comfort me. I smiled sheepishly at the gesture.
"Yeah, in the house we're all understanding of our past burdens," Hans interjected.
"I do have a question if you don't mind, love."
I turned to Jack. His arms were crossed over his chest, but he didn't look angry as his action suggested. He seemed perplexed.
"Did you ever find out what your family said you were cursed with?"
I frowned. I had thought about that constantly, and even looked for any clues or files back at the orphanage. But nothing added up. Nothing made sense. There was no record of a curse.
"You don't need to answer that, (y/n)," Merlin offered, and I looked to him and nodded a little. He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. I could feel my heart race.
Merlin continued, "Alright then. Hans will be starting dinner soon, so finish up your tea and we'll show you to your room."
~*~
"So here's our room," Merlin opened the door to a large room with seven beds. "If you need anything at all don't hesitate to come in here. We're usually goofing off before bed anyway." He offered a wink and I rolled my eyes, but let out a little laugh at his joke. Then he led me to another door at the end of the hallway.
As soon as he opened it, my eyes widened.
A BED!! JUST FOR ME!
I didn't feel ashamed to let out a squeal. I could see Merlin wince, but I couldn't contain my excitement. I ran over to the bed and stopped in front of it.
No. I have to make this moment perfect.
I slowly reached out and pressed my hand down on the soft quilt. Then slowly slid my body so I lay on the bed, my cheek pressed against the mattress.
"Oh. My gosh."
"I'm sorry if it's not to your liking," Merlin started. "We couldn't really afford a better mattress for tha-"
"I love it."
"Huh?"
"I LOVE IT! Oh my GOSH it's been so long since I've slept in a bed!" I stood up and danced around in excitement, then without thinking I ran over to Merlin and smothered him into a hug. I could feel him stiffen a bit at the sudden gesture, but eventually he relaxed his body and wrapped his arms around my torso.
I felt safe.
"Thank you."
I could feel him smile against my shoulder.
"Absolutely, (y/n). You deserve to live somewhere nice like this.
"Alright then," he pulled away slowly and nodded his head towards the hallway. "Let me show you the bathroom."
"BATHROOM?!" I gasped. "It has been SO long since I've had a bath!"
Merlin chuckled. "Yeah, I could tell."
"Oh, shut up,"
"Right, sorry."