Title: Destiny is Laughing
Rating: T (subject to change if the story progresses)
Pairings: probable Arthur/Merlin (possible other pairings as the story progresses)
Warnings: language, AU, fem/Merlin, mild violence (subject to change as the story progresses)
Disclaimer: I do not own the show Merlin, I do not own the character Merlin. I do not own the character Arthur. I do not own the BBC who owns them all. (Sadly none of this is likely subject to change as the story progresses)

As he crashed through the underbrush in search of his master, Merlin's gut tightened. Something was wrong, he could feel it. He opened his mind, probing for the familiar feel of the prince. Instead he sensed a presence that was completely foreign to the woods he regularly traveled with the Arthur's hunting party- a magical presence. Eyes widening in panic he cast about farther with his magic trying to locate the direction that the power was coming from. It was east heading west, and Arthur was in the woods. What were the odds this strange magic user wasn't heading toward Arthur? Merlin wondered to himself bitterly. Once again he was going to have to save his royal majesty's ass and likely his efforts be dismissed or have to play it off as an accident. If he was very unlucky he'd end up getting blamed for not finishing his work because he spent the morning chasing after Arthur. He swiped angrily at a branch that tried to hit him in the face. Then Merlin would be put in the stocks for saving the ungrateful prat. And who was he kidding? It didn't matter how much he tried to convince himself that he was annoyed over having to save the prince, he couldn't really say that he was. Even knowing what was likely in store for him, he couldn't prevent the rising panic for Arthur's safety. He'd gladly spend weeks in the stocks if it meant Arthur stayed safe.

Ahead he heard stamping horses, jangling armor and the clash of weapons. They were under attack! Shouts filtered through the trees, and Merlin adjusted course to race toward the sound of battle. He burst into a small clearing to see a confusing scene of the knights wildly swinging their swords, or their swords locked as they tried to throw their enemies off balance. He searched until he saw familiar blond hair gleaming in the sunlight, standing out against the knights who were all smart enough to wear their silver helmets. Arthur swung his blade, nearly claiming the head of his opponent, but the armored man managed to duck away and bring his sword up to capture the next blow Arthur aimed at him.

Merlin gaped.

Why on earth was Arthur fighting one of his own knights? Why had all the knights turned on each other? This was not as the practice they did on the training field; several men were bleeding from slight wounds, and even with helmets Merlin could see the murderous intent on their faces. They were fighting to kill, as serious as when facing down the bandits Merlin had expected to find them fighting. Were they under a spell from the sorcerer Merlin had sensed earlier? A movement in the trees to the side caught his attention and Merlin turned to see a cloaked figure stepping out to stand at Arthur's back. The knight he fought went down, slipping in the patch of mud that had been created by the man's blood mixing with the loose earth. The cloaked figure stretched forth a hand that was surrounded by a soft white glow. Words fell from the cloaked man's lips in the old language, but Merlin was not close enough make out the low words. The energy grew as he spoke into a glowing orb that was now a deep red near his flesh but pulsed with pink tendrils as it grew away from his fingers. Arthur and his knights continued to attack each other, oblivious to the sorcerer who was now shouting the unfamiliar words.

"-Naefre Biþ Gecennan Samod Mæg"

With a golden flash of his eyes Merlin slowed time. He would never make it across the clearing in time to pull Arthur out of the way of the spell that was racing toward his back. His own hand shot out and he cast a spell that would cause his prince to fall forward allowing the enemy spell to pass over his head without touching him. The next second time was restored and Merlin was now in the direct line of the red spell. He had a moment to panic before his brain kicked in and he forced his lips to form the words of another spell.

"Bordrand!"

The shield he summoned shimmered into existence just in time to intercept the brunt of the stranger's spell, but insidious tendrils of pink slipped through the distorting shield to slam into Merlin's chest. He saw the red light bouncing back toward its caster before the force of the blow flung him off of his feet and backwards into the air. Fortunately a tree was kind enough to stop his momentum. Unfortunately he slammed into the hard trunk with enough force to make stars dance across his vision. He found himself lying in a heap at the base of the tree, unable to move through the sharp pain in his head and back. He squinted, trying to make sense out of what he could see. Arthur's knights all dropped to the ground unconscious, marionettes whose strings had been cut. Arthur was apparently affected the same way; either that or Merlin's spell had dropped him harder than intended. The sorcerer stood with his hand still outstretched. The forest filled with a deafening silence. Then the sorcerer's outstretched hand clutched frantically at his own chest. His hood slipped down to reveal an older man with brown hair and eyes that were glowing red. The glow faded into a glassy brown and he crumpled to the forest floor. Merlin took a deep breath in and allowed his head to gently fall to rest against the tree for the moment. He needed to get up and check on Arthur. Of course he was getting up. His eyes closed.

"My knights are all okay?"

"Hm?" Gaius, answered absently. He was busy stripping Merlin's shirt off so he could examine him for injuries. He sucked in a deep breath when he saw the boy's back, completely forgetting the prince staring out his window.

"My knights, there weren't any serious injuries among them?" Arthur asked.

"Considering that they were all trying to stab each other with sharpened chunks of metal they were all in surprisingly good shape, Sire. The worst was Sir Percival. He took a deep slice on one arm, but he will recover and is resting in his own quarters right now. I gave them all the day off after I finished bandaging them all up and they are to come back to me in the morning. I will check their injuries again tomorrow and see how they are doing. You aren't to drag them to the training field until I have," the old physician warned as he grabbed the items resting on the side table. His tone was perhaps sharper than it should have been when addressing his liege, but he was upset that Merlin had managed to injure himself yet again in service to their prince. Not Arthur's fault, but it was frustrating to have to keep tending his ward every time some vengeful magic user decided to target the prince.

"And Merlin?"

There was a pause while Gaius rubbed a strong and foul smelling unguent onto the darkening bruise that ran the length of Merlin's back. He didn't have an answer to the prince's question just yet.

"Tell me again how Merlin was injured?" he invited the prince.

"I don't know. I remember fighting, there were bandits attacking me. Except they weren't bandits, they were my men," Arthur agonized.

"A spell, Sire. They do not blame you. They feel much the same for attacking you, and turning on each other," Gaius pointed out in a gentle tone. After a moment Arthur cleared his throat and continued.

"I don't know when he showed up, but I found him lying on the ground at the edge of the clearing after I woke up. There was a man there; he had to be the one who cast the spell that turned us on each other. He was dead. I don't know how, but I think Merlin had somehow managed breaking the spell. I don't know. How did he even know to show up? He was supposed to stay here and finish the stables while we were out. Merlin wasn't even supposed to be there!"

Arthur shoved away from the window and came over to watch Gaius work on his friend. He froze. Merlin's skin was turning deep black along his spine, spreading along his back into red and purple patches. His flesh was scraped in several places, skinned by bark. Arthur was not, despite his manservant's opinion, as oblivious or as stupid as he was thought. He lifted his hand until it hovered in the air directly above, but he did not allow him self to touch it no matter how lightly because Gaius was giving him a warning brow. The younger boy had to have been knocked into the tree Arthur had found him under by that old man in the robe. Perhaps Merlin's appearance had interrupted the spell and he had attacked Merlin in retaliation?

"He was attacked by the sorcerer wasn't he?" Arthur knew that Merlin had been attacked; he didn't know why he felt the need for confirmation.

"It does look that way Sire."

"I think he was flung into a tree. Is it very bad?" Arthur asked.

Gaius suddenly seemed every one of his years as he slumped under the weight of the question. "That… I cannot answer Sire. As deep as the bruising is, it's possible there is more damage than is readily visible. There could be injury to the spine, but we will not know that until he regains consciousness."

They both stared down at the young man for a moment, Gaius's fingers never ceasing their gentle application. "You should rest, Sire. I will tend Merlin and you can come see how he is when I check your wrist again. All of the knights are to report to me tomorrow, and that includes you."

"I'll be back in the morning," Arthur's eyes never left Merlin as he spoke. He lingered for a moment, unwilling to move, but a pointed look from Gaius spurred him into action. Arthur said his goodbye and turned toward the door. Gaius bowed his head and murmured his acknowledgment of the Prince's departure. There was a soft click then Gaius was able to turn his complete attention to tending his ward.

"Oh Merlin what did you do this time?" he sighed.

Pain was the first thing that Merlin was aware of as he floated to consciousness, absolutely overwhelming pain. He felt as though lightning bolts were dancing beneath his flesh, striking muscles and bone, and illuminating his body from the inside. Pink. The lightning was pink, and it was sinking into his brain, excruciating sparks of pink that were burning into mind, into his eyes. A piteous high pitched whimper resounded through the room. It took a moment for him to realize it was coming from him self. He clenched his teeth. Gods even his teeth were agonizingly pink, the exact same shade as the spell that had slipped past his defenses. With that his memories of the attack by the old man returned, and his eyes snapped open. He clenched them shut again, too sensitive for the light. Cautiously he cracked his eyes open, to find himself staring cross eyed at a strand of black in the line of his sight. Moving slowly he inched his fingers up to touch the black hair, for that is what his examination proved it to be. He gave the hair a little tug and felt the pull on the back of his scalp. His hair was long?

Wait…The sorcerer was trying to cast a spell that would make Arthur's hair long? That… didn't make any sense.

Moving with painful slowness he shifted his hands beneath his body and pushed himself up onto his elbows. He stopped to catch his breath, head hanging down to rest against his pillow. Finally he pushed again until he was sitting upright, in spite of how wobbly he managed to be even sitting. He was in the patient bed reserved in Gaius's chambers for any who were too sick to be left alone, but Gaius was no where to be seen. He rubbed his temples with one hand, keeping the other planted on the bed so he didn't fall over in the effort. The pain was ebbing, but his body still tingled with the lingering… pink. He didn't even know how it was possible to be a color or to taste it. He brushed his hair back over his shoulder in an absent gesture, before it caught his attention. Merlin pulled a strand back over his shoulder to examine it more closely. Why did he suddenly have long hair? What had the sorcerer been trying to accomplish?

Merlin had never had the desire to grow his hair long, so he had never contemplated what he would look like, but now that the situation was presenting itself he was curious. Shoving to his feet he made his slow way on trembling legs toward the stairs that lead to his bedroom. Several life threatening moments later he managed to make it into his bedroom and over to the hanging mirror that he used for shaving. He glanced into the glass, and stared.

"Merlin? Merlin!" the old man's panic carried through his bedroom door.

"I'm in here Gaius."

"Merlin, good heavens, don't scare me like that," the old man scolded breathlessly as he drew deeper into his quarters. "And what are you doing up? I don't recall giving you permission to go gallivanting around."

"I'm hardly gallivanting around, but could you come here for a moment?" His fear made Merlin's voice go up a notch. There was a thump of something being dropped unceremoniously onto one of the counters.

"Just a moment, let me grab you a potion you're going to need." There was a rustling noise and Gaius's footsteps could be heard nearing, "What's the matter?"

"I have a problem."

Gaius's eyebrows drew together. It must be alarming for the boy's voice to go that high. His feet reached the stairs.

"Are you in pain? Well, never mind that. I'm sure you are. Well let's get you sorted out because Arthur and the knights who traveled with him yesterday are going to be arriving soon enough and I'll be busy with them for a while, and I need to examine you before they get here. Now what's this pro…"

The potion bottle fell from his finger tips as he stared unable to quite process what he was seeing. Finally his brain caught up and he jerked his head down to stare at the shattered vial at his feet before dismissing it in favor of the larger issue at hand. He raised his head to stare at his ward once more.

"Gaius, I think my reflection is broken!"

"Oh… dear…"

End Notes: I will be honest, largely speaking I dislike turning male characters into females. Then I wondered why. Thinking about it, I realized my objection was not so much the concept as it is the way it is frequently handled. So this is my personal challenge to myself, to write a female Merlin fic that I would have been willing to read if I weren't the one writing it. I do not know that I will accomplish handling a tricky subject with anything resembling grace. In fact I believe that I may leave it at this chapter, and not even touch the subject further since I am uncertain I can do it justice. Regardless of whether or not I continue this fic, please note that all mistakes are my own as this story has no beta and is as yet, unedited. Hopefully you will find some amusement out of this little story.