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

Chapter Five

(Y/N)'s POV

"Hans! Think fast!"
I watched intently as Merlin whipped out a talisman from his side pouch, curling his fingers together to initiate electricity. Then, faster than I could even process, he shot lightning toward's Hans's shield.
Mission training was so interesting for me to watch. I would always help the boys by providing targets for them to hit, scenarios for them to practice, or something along those sorts.
I also really enjoyed watching Merlin practice his magic. I enjoyed watching Merlin in general, but something about his lightning skills really made me want to learn magic myself.
It was common knowledge that magic was almost always a genetic skill, but in a rare occurrence someone could be taught.
Something in my head told me that I could be a part of that rare percentage.
"Alright," Jack walked out of the house, holding up a book. The cover was in French, but considering that was Jack's first language he must have understood the contents well.
The boys stopped their training as Jack cleared his throat, preparing to read the text.
"It says here that my family's cursed member has a power of transformation," he recited, holding up the book to show an illustration of a person. The person aimed their hand towards a raccoon, and the illustration on the next page showed the raccoon morphing into a porcupine of sorts. "The prophecy is set to happen every hundred years to the second born child of the family, and the person can morph anything or anyone they choose, including themselves. Some ancestors have even used the power to give themselves special abilities, like flying or destruction."
"Interesting,"
"Peculiar,"
"Cool,"
Pino, Noki, and Kio all looked intently at the book as they mumbled.
"It couldn't be my family specifically," Jack stated, closing the book. "I'm an only child."
"That's good, we won't have to worry too much about anything happening on the island," I added, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"Alright everyone," Jack smirked as he whipped his cape before his body, making his torso disappear. "Let's get to training."
I helped the boys a lot that night. I threw some weaponry at Hans and gave him a couple of hay bales to tackle with his shield.  I then used that weaponry and did a one on two fight with Arthur and Jack, allowing them to work on their strategies and plan together. I even helped Pino, Noki, and Kio with some of their machines.
By the time I got to Merlin, he was done training. He was sat upon a barrel, twisting a talisman in between his fingers.
"Got time for a little extra practice with me?" I asked, biting my lip a little. He looked up upon hearing my voice and smiled warmly.
"I've got time, but I've practiced all that I need to tonight... but perhaps we can work on your magic?"
My ears perked up. "My magic? What magic do you mean?"
"Well," he stood and walked over to me. "It's rare to find a person who can learn magic without a genetic trait, but I see something in you," he placed a talisman in my hand. "I think you can do it."
"Really?!" I looked down at the talisman, then back up at him with excitement ready to explode out of me. He chuckled and placed his hands on my shoulders, turning me towards a target that the boys had crafted specifically for training.
"Alright," he started, moving his soft touch from my shoulder to my hands, positioning them in a similar stance as when he uses talismans on his own. "Focus on the target in front of you, make it the center of your vision.."
I looked ahead and locked my eyes so the target looked as if it were at the light end of a dark tunnel.
"Alright.. now what are you fighting for?" Merlin asked, his gentle touch trickling from my wrists down to my elbows.
"..Me.. my journey in life... the croissants in the kitchen.."
He let out a breathy laugh by my ear, his warm breath brushing against my neck.
"Alright, now focus on that as well. Take that energy you feel in your heart and gut and put it towards the talisman."
I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and feeling the energy that he mentioned course through my veins. I imagined biting down on a flaky croissant, and almost felt the crumbs trickle down my chin.  I felt it in my fingertips, felt the electricity course through the talisman and...
Nothing.
The talisman moved slightly, but other than that it didn't bring any electricity to my fingertips as easily as it did Merlin's.
"You almost had it!" Merlin exclaimed, and I turned to look at him.
"Really?"
"Yeah! It takes a few times to practice, but I promise you that you'll get the hang of it."
The reassured look on his face brought me peace, and I smiled slightly.
"Merlin?"
"(Y/n)?"
"What's your reason?"
He furrowed his brow. "Reason?"
"For fighting. What are you fighting for?"
He smiled lightly, his beautiful brown eyes locking with mine. My smile faded, my only focus going towards the eyes that were bearing into my soul.
"I-"
"Dinner!"
Merlin and I whipped around to see that everyone had gone back inside. Not only that, but the boys were peeking outside of the window and watching us. Once noticed, they immediately swooped out of view and went back to what they were doing.
Merlin seemed embarrassed, but I couldn't help but laugh. I put my hands on my knees to balance myself, and I looked up to see Merlin looking down on me, a half-lidded "not funny" expression painting his face. I smirked and reached up, pinching his cheeks in between my forefinger and thumb, then ran inside for dinner before he could do or say anything else.
~*~
THIRD PERSON POV
Laughter erupted from inside of the house of eight, but that didn't stop the critters of the outside world from performing their daily duties. What were they supposed to do? Let their families at home starve?
One little raccoon peeked its head outside of the barn next to the house, it's nose pointing up and getting a good whiff at the surrounding smells. It's ears perked up as sounds from the house once again broke through the windows.
But suddenly the senses of the raccoon came into play as it caught a whiff of something absolutely delicious.
Careful not to alert any nearby predators or hunters, it carefully scurried its way through the equipment that the house's residents had left from training; a sword, some shields, and a row of what used to be three targets.
The critter passed one target, then the second target, but where the third target should have rested was instead a buttery, flakey croissant. The raccoon snatched it in its little hands, bit down, then scurried off to take it home to his family.

Hey guys! Sorry this chapter isn't as long. I'm still trying to put together some plot points but I promise things will start to come together soon ;)
Lots of love!
Soph