Merthur Oneshots

I Just Want One To Hold My Heart

(A/N)

Hiya all! I am sorry I did not write this note before, but it only came to my mind that without clarification, this oneshot may come off as plagiarism to some of you.

So before anyone else writes me a message that is only barely civil, let me clarify it once and for all. This fic is inspired by the Snow/Charming first meeting from OUAT. It is very nearly a copy except for the things I was too lazy to remember. If this fic seems familiar to anyone who has incidentally watched OUAT before, it was meant to be.

Hope that clears things up. Enjoy!

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Magic sparked across Merlin's fingertips as he gripped his bow, narrowly missing from setting fire on the foliage of the tree he was hidden in. His eyes were trained on the rough path before him, a strip of barren land winding through the forest, the dry brown contrasting against the bright green of the surrounding area.

The distant clip-clop of hooves and the sound of a carriage rattling over stray stones in the forest path reached his ears, amplified by his magic. A massive tree had already been felled in the path, blocking anyone who might have wanted to pass, and giving Merlin ample opportunity to rob them.

Being a solitary bandit and one that the Queen had a personal grudge against was not easy for survival, but Merlin made do. And if he managed to pull off this particular heist, well, he could take a ship off this cursed realm and disappear to where no one could ever find him.

And sure enough, a minute later, a carriage rounded around a curve in the forest path, barrelling through the slight undergrowth and the rattling of the wheels over stray stones making a racket that scared off the birds. Merlin gritted his teeth as the squawking became louder, the carriage making no attempt to stop.

It was a beauty, and that was something even Merlin could admit. The coach was a brilliant sapphire blue, with golden accents that swirled around the polished wooden surface. The window in the door gave him a glimpse of a red velveteen interior, but it whipped away too fast for him to get a glance of the occupants. It was pulled by a team of four horses, two white stallions and one black, the fourth a beautiful shade of chestnut. Coachmen sitting on the driver's seat held the reins, and pulled on them when the fallen tree came into view.

The sound of hooves died down as they stopped, a bewildered expression on their faces. The two Knights accompanying flanking the two sides of the coach also stopped, jumping off from their steeds and jogging to the fallen tree, swords unsheathed and held loosely at their sides, as if they didn't know what to do with them. Merlin hoped they wouldn't try to hack the tree with them, even though he had met enough Knights to know that they were thick headed enough to do that.

And sure enough, the blade of a sword sunk down in the bark, the force behind it rendering it impossible to pull back out without significant effort.

Merlin cracked a grin at the scene, jumping down from his perch in the tree as his magic swirled around him, cushioning and muffling his fall. He hurried towards the carriage on quiet feet, pulling his hood over his head, black felt covering his raven curls that fell across his pale forehead, and pulled his scarf to the bridge of his nose so the bottom half of his face was covered. He emerged from the shelter of the trees, shifting so he wasn't visible to anyone from the party. It wasn't needed anyways, no one was looking towards him.

He moved towards the carriage, crouching and flattening himself to the outer wall so that he wasn't noticeable from the window. He planned to wait until the occupants left the coach before he struck, pilfering anything of value before vanishing into thin air and later fencing the stolen goods.