Merlin One-Shots!!

Family

So this idea came to me at 3 am, so just go with it aha!

Piercing screams echoed through the trees. Merlin raced ahead of the knights, adrenaline and a touch of magic urging his legs to go faster. He expertly weaved in and out of the trees, leaving stray branches to hit the faces of the men behind.

They reached a small clearing surrounded by bushes. Sunlight streamed through the canopy, creating intricate patterns on the sea of grass. Wildflowers bloomed in clumps. If it wasn't for the heart wrenching cries this would be a place of serenity.

Merlin quickly pinpointed the source of the cries, which were now no more than sniffles. He walked delicately over to a bush covered in deep pink flowers and lifted the base branches up. Underneath, huddled in a ball, was a young girl. She can't have been anything more than three years of age.

Arthur approached as well. The young girl looked up with fear in her eyes, backing away from the armour clad man in terror.

"Athur, stay there, you're scaring her." Merlin scolded. He turned his head back to the little girl and spoke in a gentle tone. "Hello my lady, what are you doing out here all alone."

The little girl said nothing, just launched herself at Merlin and cried into his chest. Merlin stumbled back in surprise, looking back at the knights for assistance. They all looked as shocked as he.

"They took mama and papa because they are different." It took Merlin a few moments to piece together this information. One glance at her wrist confirmed his suspicions. This girl was a druid. A powerful one at that. He could feel the magic radiating off her.

"It's okay. We are going to take you to our home and get you seen to. How long have you been out here." Merlin said, his tone still kind. The girl simply shrugged. Her brown doe eyes were full of pain, too much pain for a girl of her age.

"What's your name, my lady?"

"Evelynn" She said with a slight giggle. She was taken back by the kindness of the stranger, feeling strangely compelled to trust him.

"Well hello, Evelynn. My name is Merlin. This is Arthur, Gwaine, Leon, Lancelot, Percival and Elyan." He pointed to each person in turn, who waved sweetly at her. Her smile faltered at the shiny knights uniform and pointed swords.

"Merlin let's go take her back." Arthur said, helping his other half up. Arthur had to admit that the sight of Merlin with a child made him long for a family.

The child whimpered at the sight of Arthur and the knights closing in, burying her head deeper into Merlin's neck. "Maybe you should drop the swords guys." Merlin suggested with a stern look. They all immediately hid their swords from view so as to not scare the poor girl further.

They began their trek back to their camp. Before the group had heard the screams, they had been on a hunting trip. A private celebration of Merlin and Arthur's engagement. Of course they had had a feast the night prior, but the couple wanted to spend a day with their closest friends.

Gwaine and Merlin soon had the girl giggling away. As it turns out the two men are surprisingly good with children. Everyone was shocked when Gwaine took the child and began playing with her. They never thought he was capable of being so gentle.

"It's too late to head back now. We should rest for the night then head back to Camelot in the morning." Arthur announced. Everyone agreed that with dark fast approaching it would be unwise to continue. Merlin started cooking a meal, Evelynn 'helping' him chop up the vegetables.

After about an hour the meal was ready and the men huddled around the fire, welcoming the warmth. Despite the fire and warm food, Evelynn was cold to the touch. Arthur unclipped his cape and clumsily wrapped her in it. The red material swallowed her, being almost ten times the size of her frail body.

As night fell the men drifted into a peaceful sleep, with Leon taking the first watch. He couldn't help but smile at Evelynn snuggled between Arthur and Merlin, their arms draped protectively over the young girl.

It was no surprise that when they reached Camelot the next day Merlin took Arthur to one side to talk about the girl.

It was no surprise that the very next day, the two men had adopted Evelynn to be their daughter.

It certainly was no surprise that Evelynn barely left her father's side whilst growing up. She became fast friends with Wayne, Gwen and Lancelot's first born. They grew together, eventually ruling over the Kingdom of Albion as husband and wife.

Evelynn is gonna be in more stories in the future. I love the idea of Merlin and Arthur adopting a little girl.

Wayne is also going to become a regular character!