Disclaimer: I love Merlin, but that doesn't mean I own it. Pure fan love here.
Story: In a strange twist, Uther decided to have Merlin serve him as well. How does Merlin get around saving these two royal prats, when she's busy doing royal chores and getting exhausted saving them and doing their dirty laundry? She says nothing on how affectionate she oddly becomes of the King and the loyalty she develops for not only Arthur but Uther.
Set as an AU, genderbending fic.
Spoilers: All seasons.
Warnings: Age disparity, cursing and violence for now…hm, just in case since I'm usually writing it, bit of crazy humor, perverted humor, morbid or sarcastic humor, and maybe some sexual situations…
Pairings: Eventual Uther/Merlin, Lancelot/Gwen, others unknown for now… (I don't know what the hell I'm going to do with Arthur –I don't like him with anyone but Merlin, male or otherwise!)

A/n: Because I really need more pro-Uther fics :(

The Lion and The Lamb
Chapter One: He Caged Her

"Wow, Camelot's big…"

Her eyes widened, watching the crowd she stood in with amazement. Camelot was much bigger…and different than what she was used to in Ealdor. Still, she'd traveled a long way and she wasn't going to be intimidated and balk from the place.

Merlin Ambrosius of Ealdor was not going to panic.

So she focused on her destination, knowing she was supposed to head over to her Uncle Gaius, wherever he lived, for it was where she was going to stay for now on. On the way there, she saw a poor servant being bullied by a bunch of knights. Her blood heated up and she seethed inwardly, practically having to force herself to refrain from marching over there and giving the main bully a piece of her mind.

The target the servant had been holding was dropped and it rolled towards her, and the young man stumbled after it. She stopped it with her foot and gave the servant a smile.

"Here, why don't I return this and you go on and do your other duties?" Merlin encouraged him gently.

The servant boy gave her a shy smile and then left, and she then faced towards the group that had been harassing the poor boy. The main one, a handsome blue-eyed blond, scowled at her.

"I didn't give Gregory leave. It wasn't your place," he sneered at her.

She looked at him blankly. "Was it not then, my friend? I suppose that's just too bad. I just arrived in Camelot and was under the impression of respectable civilization."

The other looked like he wasn't sure how to take the latter part of her statement, but quickly recovered.

"Since you just arrived, I'll give you a pass since you obviously don't know who I am and how things work around here," the blond man straightened up. "So obviously, that doesn't make us friends either."

She narrowed her eyes. "Quite right. I don't make friends with pompous bullies."

Merlin tossed the target at him to catch and then turned on her heel huffily, just barely not stomping away, and leaving behind a stupefied group of knights and prince.

She walked passed an execution happening and she shivered as she saw it, watching it warily as she moved through the crowds. Involuntarily, she reached up and hugged herself in comfort and shock. She barely saw the richly dressed man at the execution, addressing the crowd.

After asking around and finally being pointed in the right direction, she found the royal physician's home (boy, was she surprised that was what he was). She hesitantly entered it and saw an elder man reaching for a book high up on the shelf, using a rickety and unsafe ladder. She was quiet and waited for him to finish before speaking, not wanting to startle him.

"Hello."

The man whirled around in surprise, dropping his book. Her hand snatched it quickly, but she had to push down the reflexive and instinctive use of her magic. It was hard, as she relied and used it constantly.

"Um, Uncle Gaius…it's me. Merlin? I, uh, have a letter here from my mother," she handed it over and let the shocked man slowly recover, which was made easier by her patience and the time it took for him to read the letter and adjust.

"My dear, it's been so long! Welcome to Camelot," Gaius smiled warmly at her. "Gaius is fine. No need to make an old man feel older. Come, come. Let's get you settled in, huh?"

He showed her where she would be staying, and even helped her clean it up a bit so that it would be more livable for her.

"Aye, Merlin, I have business to attend to now. I must bring some potions to several people," Gaius informed her.

"I can help," Merlin volunteered. "Anything I can do?"

"Well, there are several different people I need to see to. The area is widespread and you'll have trouble going everywhere and finding people and where they live, so that should wait until you start coming with me and start becoming more familiar with the area. However, the castle is big, but easier to travel in and plenty of people that will give you directions. Plus, it is urgent that you get to the King. He is the most important person in Camelot, and he must not be kept waiting."

Merlin gaped at her uncle. "T-the King? You want me to deliver something to the King?"

Gaius rolled his eyes. "Yes, Merlin. Don't worry, he doesn't bite. I hope I don't need to remind you not to do anything, do I?"

And she caught the double meaning in his advice, and nodded to show she understood. Her mother must have told him about her magic in the letter.

"Here. His usual potion for his aches and pains, and an ointment for his shoulder," Gaius handed her the two things. "I'll see you later, my dear."

Merlin gave him a small smile and then headed out. She weaved through the small crowd and went into the servants' entrance into the castle, asking around for directions to the King's chambers, where she was told he would be. The closer she got, the more nervous she became. When she was finally at his doors, she hesitated before forcing herself to knock surely on it.

"Come in," a commanding voice allowed her entry and she took a quick moment to suck up whatever courage she had in her and then entered.

The King stood shirtless by his bed, rolling his left shoulder in circles. She slowly moved closer, though at least he hadn't looked over at her yet.

"Sire, your potion and ointment," she spoke up slightly.

He finally turned and acknowledged her, looking at her appraisingly with cold green eyes. She swallowed nervously.

"I haven't seen you before. And where's Gaius?" he spoke with a firm tone, she noticed.

"I just came to Camelot. He's my uncle," she explained, trying to keep it short and not waste his time. "He asked me to hand this to you, while he went around doing errands."

"I see. Hand it over then," he ordered and she came close to him and handed him the vial first.

He'd just chugged it down when he felt the cold touch of cream against his left shoulder, and he turned somewhat to face the girl. She was so totally concentrated on her task that she missed the strange look he gave her, as well as the fact he chose to not rebuke her, considering she looked like she didn't seem to know or look like she knew she was doing something she didn't have to or that she had just touched his person without permission. And there was that he admitted it felt very nice, especially with that shoulder.

"That's enough," he stopped her. "You may go now."

She almost bowed, but then changed halfway into an awkward curtsey to his amusement.

"Yes, Sire. Have a good day."

And then she practically flew from his presence.

On the other hand, Merlin was just glad to be away from the King. It was absolutely nerve-wracking and she kept thinking she was going to do something to upset him at any moment, and then she was going to be executed. He did look rather familiar though…

Suddenly, she bumped into someone and she looked up from the ground to see another servant girl, maybe around her age, shaking her head and regaining her own bearings.

"Oh, it's you!" the girl exclaimed, pointing at her.

"Oh, it's me. Um, why me?" she gave an awkward smile, slightly confused and a little embarrassed at her strange reply she blurted out.

The other girl's cheeks colored slightly. "You're the brave girl who stood up to Arthur."

Merlin blinked. "Oh, you mean the jerk earlier, that was being mean to, uh, Gregory I think it was?"

"Yes, Gregory. He's very thankful. And yeah, Prince Arthur."

"Prince?" Merlin's face lost its color.

"Yes, the King's son. No one really stands up to him because of that. I'm sorry! I never introduced myself –I'm Guinevere, but just call me Gwen," Gwen smiled at her.

"M-Merlin," she muttered. "T-the Prince…"

She laughed weakly and Gwen caught on a bit, giving her a sympathetic look.

"Are you hungry? Lunch is in a bit. I can show you to the kitchens, if you'd like? And I can introduce you to the others there," her new friend offered and Merlin nodded gratefully.

"That would be great. Oh dear…I really do have the worse luck," she bemoaned, getting up and following Gwen.

"It's alright. You probably won't even have to come face to face with him again!"

The two girls hit it off immediately as they walked together to the kitchens, where Merlin was introduced to many other employees of the castle and also where she ate her first meal in Camelot.

Afterwards, just as she was exploring the castle (without Gwen because unfortunately her new friend had to get back to her duties), she ran into Gaius. He handed over another vial and asked her to deliver it to the Lady Helen, who was thankfully staying in the castle so she wouldn't have to get lost outside. And as she had been exploring it, she was a little more comfortable and familiar with the castle.

That still didn't mean she knew exactly where Lady Helen was.

Unfortunately, the first person she ran into was the one person she wished she could never see again. Arthur Pendragon smugly pulled her away from the corridor she was turning into.

Gwen was wrong. She did end up face to face with the smug prick, and she would probably continue to do so if she was going to keep doing errands for Gaius in the castle.

"Now what are you doing in the castle and heading off to? I don't think this is where you belong, if you get what I mean," even his grin was insufferably smug.

"I'm delivering something from Uncle Gaius to the Lady Helen. But I'm lost," she deadpanned, giving him a withering look.

"Gaius? The Royal Physician?" Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. "He's your uncle?"

"Yes," she stretched it out, thinking he was rather slow. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to try to get this to Lady Helen."

"I know where she is. I'll take you," Arthur's demeanor changed oddly and he held out his arm for her to take.

Confused but not willing to start a fight, especially with the Prince of all people, she stayed silent and accepted it.

"Thank you," she said though. Her mother taught her manners, and she (unlike someone next to her) would use them.

"…You're welcome."

And the rest of the walk was quiet and slightly confusing to Merlin.

At Lady Helen's room, she waited by herself and looked around in boredom. Just as she curiously stared into the mirror of the vanity set, she was angrily confronted by Lady Helen herself. She quickly explained her presence and thankfully the Lady calmed down.

"I heard you have a pretty voice," Merlin smiled brightly. "I can't wait to hear it. I love singing myself."

Lady Helen gave a twitchy smile. "Thank you. I'll see you later then. Much thanks for the potion."

Merlin's smile faltered slightly, feeling something off about the Lady, but shrugged it off and left to go back to Gaius'.

That night, she was getting ready to go to bed. However, she started to hear a voice echo from somewhere, calling her name. Apprehensively, she followed it down to the castle's lower levels, though it looked to be going further down.

She saw the two guards guarding the entrance to where it seemed the voice was coming from. She stepped out from the shadows and startled them.

"Oh, are you playing dice? Can I play too?" she asked them eagerly.

The two guards looked at each other before shrugging and allowing her in. She forgot about the voice, whose owner sweatdropped from his place in the cave underneath the castle.

He had better luck the next night, where Merlin sleepily stomped back down to the lower levels and then through the entrance, sneaking passed her dice buddies. Going down the cave incoherently, she was suddenly confronted by a giant dragon that flew down to greet her.

"Whatcha want? Dontcha know what time it is?" Merlin grumbled sleepily, still not fully aware.

"Awake, sorceress. Be aware and acknowledge me," the dragon's voice rumbled in amusement.

Merlin sighed and rubbed her eyes thoroughly, looking back up. Then she blinked and gaped.

"Oh."

"Hello, young sorceress."

"Good evening," she said faintly. "Um…no offence, but why am I here and why do you keep calling me? Er, well, you are the one calling me, right?"

"Yes, I am. And I must urge you to confront your destiny head on. Prince Arthur is the Once and Future King, and you must guide him towards his future. Together, the two of you will unite all of Albion."

Merlin just stared at him for a moment before she burst out laughing. She hunched over, still wheezing from her laughter.

"Wow, that was a good joke. You almost had me there," Merlin was still chuckling.

The dragon looked like it was actually raising some kind of eyebrow at her.

"I am not joking, Merlin," he surprised her by knowing her name. "Arthur will fail without you. Albion will not exist."

"You have got to be wrong," Merlin rubbed exhaustedly at her face. Maybe this was some kind of weird dream…

"This is not a dream, Merlin. And I am not wrong. Or more, in this instance, there is no right or wrong –only what is and what isn't," the dragon insisted.

"I can't! I came here to stay inconspicuous and not stand out! I'm not supposed to bring attention to myself! What that is, what you want? That is bringing attention to myself!" Merlin shook her head vehemently. "I'm supposed to practically not exist here. Live here like I'm just a nobody, and no one knows I'm alive. I don't care about the Prince. It's not my business and I'm going to continue to stay out of it."

The dragon sighed patronizingly. "That must not be. You have a destiny. You can't escape it. None of us can choose ours and sooner or later you will succumb to yours."

Merlin glared, but the dragon gave a bellowing laugh and turned to fly away.

"Don't you turn your back to me, Kilgharrah!" Merlin snapped.

Both dragon and sorceress stared at each other. Merlin was confused and didn't know where that had come from, nor where she'd come up with the name. Kilgharrah, on the other hand, was baffled and wary as to how Merlin had come by his name or why she was suddenly gifted with it and so soon.

Merlin cleared her throat nervously. "K-Kilgharrah, stay here. Please. Tell me everything that you can about my destiny then."

It was a very long and…fruitful, she reluctantly could say, night.

Merlin sighed and walked back to Gaius', knowing it was early morning. She'd just finished her visit with Kilgharrah and was tired as hell.

"You there."

Merlin faltered in her steps and looked in the direction the voice had called out to her, eyes widening as she realized it was the King.

"S-Sire," she greeted, about to bow but then realized she was supposed to curtsey. That was the second time, damn it…

"Gaius'…niece," he sounded out, making certain. "Go to the kitchens and bring me my breakfast in my chambers."

He turned abruptly and left her there, feeling rather befuddled. She wasn't exactly a servant there, but he was King. She guessed she was kind of cornered into it…

Good thing Gwen had showed her where the kitchen was and so she hurried there and retrieved the breakfast reserved for the King, carefully holding onto it while hurrying to his chambers. Once there, she knocked and was let in, and she served the King at his table, placing his food in front of him.

She nervously stood away afterwards, waiting for a dismissal or something from him. But he stayed quiet, paying more attention to his food than to her. He started eating immediately and she sort of shifted awkwardly at her spot.

"Quit fidgeting."

Her face flushed red and she forced herself to calm down, though she still felt very nervous. Unconsciously, to stop herself from panicking in the presence of the King (who was the cause of her anxiousness in the first place anyway), she started humming to herself.

"Sing freely, girl."

The order caught her off guard and her head jerked up from where her gaze had been focused on the floor, to staring at the King. He simply raised an eyebrow at her, and she hated how somehow people just kept doing that to her.

But his odd tone, added with a measure of curiosity that she was sure she was imagining, tugged at her mind.

"T-today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you. By now you should've somehow realized what you gotta do. I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now~" And as she kept singing, her voice stopped being tentative and grew stronger, until all she focused on was singing, not noticing the King had stopped eating and was concentrated solely on her.

Once she finished with the song, she stopped and looked over at the King, turning awkward and wanting to fidget again when she saw him staring at her and being very silent. She wrung her hands nervously. She didn't know what else he wanted or what else she was supposed to do now. Geez, why did Camelot etiquette have to be so hard and different from Ealdor's?

"You have a pretty voice," he finally commented softly. "You may go now. Your uncle must be missing you."

"Goodbye, Sire," she bowed, forgetting to curtsey instead.

She fled as fast as she could, hopefully not too fast to offend the King.

She got back to her home in time, though it was just in time for Gaius to grin mischievously at her and hold up a vial.

"I'm not going to question you about where you've been…but the Lady Morgana needs this," Gaius tossed it to her and her eyes flashed gold, slowing it down enough for her to catch it easily.

"Make sure not to do that in the rest of the castle," Gaius warned and then let her go.

She traveled quickly to the Lady Morgana's room, having become very familiar with the castle by now that the directions she was given by people were quickly followed. When her knock wasn't answered, she hesitantly opened the door and poked her head in, seeing no one. Sighing, she came in and was about to leave it at a dresser or something, when someone spoke up and startled her.

"Gwen, is that you?"

Bluntly, she spoke out and introduced herself. "Sorry, Lady Morgana. I'm Gaius' niece –I was delivering a potion from him for you."

"Oh! Just set it aside somewhere, thank you. And if you wouldn't mind, could you help me lace up my dress? And call me Morgana, if you'd like," Morgana's voice was pleasant and kind, immediately bringing a smile to Merlin's face.

"I'm Merlin," she returned, leaving the vial on a table and then heading to go behind the screen and meeting the pretty ward of the King's. They met face to face quickly, trading smiles, before Morgana turned and Merlin quickly and efficiently began to lace up the back of her dress.

"You're really good at this," Morgana commented.

"Ah, let's just say I had a lot of practice," Merlin told her in a sardonic voice. "There you go, milady."

"Oh, fantastic! And it's tight, but not too much that I feel like suffocating. Thank you very much, Merlin."

"You're welcome. Goodbye then –"

"Wait! Please –stay awhile. Tell me, how do you like Camelot so far?" Morgana eagerly asked her, grabbing her hands and leading her to the table where the vial was.

The Lady sat her down and then sat beside her, smiling softly and eager to hear a response.

Awkwardly, Merlin smiled and shrugged. "Well, it's been an odd but…I guess nice start."

"Tell me all about it! I insist," Morgana was practically beaming at her.

And so, well, Merlin sort of just blurted it all out. But geez, these royals. They're all rather strange.

She talked with the Lady Morgana until Gwen arrived, and then was pulled into more talk. She left them around the time it was close to Lady Helen's grand performance. She quickly got herself ready and then walked with Gaius to the grand hall it was taking place at.

She stood by Gaius, near the table where the royals sat. Soon enough, Lady Helen began to sing. Unfortunately, it was very quickly that Merlin began to notice something was wrong. Her eyes started to feel heavy and her body felt like dead weight. She kept shaking her head, trying to stop herself from feeling sleepy and falling asleep. It was getting harder and harder with each note that was being sung, and then Merlin took the chance to look around.

There were cobwebs forming around people around the room, all of whom were falling asleep. She looked at Lady Helen, who was completely awake and still singing and Merlin knew who the cause of all this was. Looking up, Merlin saw the chandelier and her eyes flashed gold, causing it to fall at the exact moment Lady Helen was underneath it.

The spell was immediately broken and King Uther immediately roared out in anger, reminding her of a lion.

"Witch! How dare you!"

"You took my son!" the woman Merlin recalled from that execution screeched (also unfortunately remembering that the richly dressed man had been Uther). "A son for a son, I said!"

And she withdrew a dagger from her sleeve and threw it head on towards Arthur, too quickly for him to dodge or for anyone to interfere. Anyone not Merlin.

Her eyes flashed gold once more and without any thought, she just ran instinctively towards Arthur and pulled him back from the slowed down dagger, which embedded itself in the Prince's chair, right where his head would have been.

With that Mary Collins died and everyone celebrated the Prince being saved with the evil sorceress' death. Merlin held in her sigh of relief.

"That…was a most honorable and brave act, Merlin."

Startled at the use of her name and that the King had somehow learned of it, Merlin looked up to him, still clutching tightly to a shaken Arthur. He got up quickly and held out a hand, actually helping her up.

"I am very thankful to you for saving my son's life. You have done me a great service and must be rewarded," the King spoke quietly and solemnly, but his voice still carried through the room.

Everyone listened intently and Merlin swallowed dryly.

"It's…it's fine, Sire."

"I insist," he spoke firmly. "This is truly an important matter. You have saved my son and therefore deserve the highest reward. I will give you a position in the royal household as my son's servant…and to serve me when your duties to my son are seen to."

Merlin blinked. What the hell kind of reward was that?

"Let the feast recommence. Guards, remove that from the room," the King glared down at the fallen figure of Mary Collins.

And what the hell was Merlin going to do? It wasn't like she could say no.

She'd been essentially trapped into the household of the King.

Started 9/7/12 – Completed 9/9/12

A/n: I really want to get back into the Merlin fandom, but my other Merlin fics are being a pain. I'm hoping publishing this will invigorate me and my muse for Merlin. Also, despite this first chapter going along with the first episode (like "The Day the Whole World Went Away"), this will end up highly different, and the episodes will be way out of order. Like I might have season 3 stuff already coming in, etc. etc. And a lot more original stuff will be happening as well and will probably be at equal parts to episode chapters.

I really hope people will give this a chance, especially with the pairing and the fact it's really pro-Uther (I also want this out because I'm dying for more fics that are pro-Uther), so please leave a review!

EDIT: Soooo, anyone actually willing to review?