A/N: First fanfic for the Merlin fandom...I have no idea where this story is going, but I do have the first few chapters planned out, so updates should be pretty consistent. New chapter should be up in a week...possibly. I don't really know if something like this has been done before, but if it has, please leave your thoughts and if it hasn't, could you please leave your thoughts still? Reviews are always great. So enjoy this!

Title: King By Random Choice

Summary: Escetia needs a king. A council comes together in Camelot to chose the new king. A noble is supposed to be chosen...not a servant, especially Prince Arthur's manservant, Merlin.

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, BBC does. I just wish I could own Colin Morgan's ridiculously large ears!

Chosen

"Did you finish mucking out all of the stables?" Arthur asked as he walked down the corridor. He passed several servants that were scurrying about with their arms full of different items.

"Yes, sire. I wouldn't be running after you if I didn't." Merlin replied, as he had to practically jog to keep up with Arthur.

Arthur had been like this all morning; up and down the castle, sending Merlin to do little chores. Everyone seemed to be behaving the same way, rushing to get something done. Merlin had no idea what the rush was though. He had been in Camelot for nearly five years and never had he seen the place so busy.

"And did you make sure there was enough food and water for all the horses?"

"Yes, even though I see no point in me having to do it. Isn't that why we have stable boys?"

"The stable boys are busy helping the rest of the servants clean the castle." Arthur finally stopped once he was in his room.

Merlin leaned over to catch his breath. "Can you please explain to me what is going on? Why is everyone in a rush?"

"Have you ever heard of the Council of Kings?"

Merlin shook his head.

"I need you to wash this jacket and have it ready for tonight for the feast." Arthur tossed said jacket in Merlin's direction.

"Are you going to explain what this council is? And why am I now just being informed of this feast?" Merlin was starting to get exasperated.

"Right. The Council of Kings is exactly what it says. A council of kings."

"What's the big deal about it, then?" Merlin asked.

"This particular council has only gathered twice in all of the history of Albion. They only gather whenever there is a huge crisis in all of Albion."

Merlin thought over all that had happened in Camelot the past few weeks. They had defeated Cenred's undead army and Morgause and Morgana as well. "But it doesn't seem as if any crisis is going on though."

"No, but there is a kingdom without a king. Cenred has left Escetia without a ruler and there is no heir left to the throne. I doubt you know this, but whenever a kingdom is left without a ruler, chaos ensues in that particular kingdom."

Merlin swallowed hard as he thought of Ealdor. They were on the outskirts of Cenred's kingdom. He hoped everything was well for everyone, especially his mother. "So what's this council going to do?"

"Choose a new king for Escetia. Along with every king, all the nobles from all the kingdoms are gathering here for the choosing. That's also why there's going to be a huge feast tonight."

"Are the knights going to be there too? Not for the feast, but for the actual choosing of the king?" Merlin couldn't help but think how incredible it would be if one of his friends was chosen king. He smirked, imagining Gwaine as the king.

"Out of the knights, only Sir Leon is going to be there. I don't think the council wants someone like Gwaine becoming king."

Merlin chuckled and moved on to his next question. "Who's going to choose?"

"The leader of the council of course. The oldest king alive today, which I believe is King Avlar. Tomorrow morning, during the council, one of the nobles will become King of Escetia."

"Are they going to look at all the qualities of the man before they choose?"

Arthur shook his head. "No, they're just going to draw lots."

Merlin's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. "It's just going to be by random choice!"

"Yes. That's how they chose last time something like this happened."

"But what if the man is a complete idiot and doesn't know how to run a country?"

"Merlin, I can understand your concern, considering your mother lives in Escetia, but you shouldn't worry about it. Even though the king is chosen by random, it's really fate that chooses him. Whoever is chosen will be the king that Escetia needs."

Merlin sighed and allowed Arthur's words to bring a little comfort to him. "Whatever you say, Arthur."

"So you're okay then? Good. Now you can clean my jacket and my boots."

"Wait, I thought you just wanted your jacket cleaned?"

"Yes, but while we were talking I remembered my boots haven't been cleaned in a long time. So get to it. I want it done before supper."

"But that only gives me two hours! Do you know how long it takes to clean just your boots?"

Arthur smiled menacingly. "Then I guess you better get to it."

Merlin collapsed in a heap on the bench in Gaius' chambers. He had just come back from the feast. It had been the biggest feast he had never seen so many snooty, stuck-up mean and women in one room. More than half of them were incredibly rude to all of the servants too. Merlin had been tempted several times to use his magic to make their drinks spew into their faces.

"I am so hungry." Merlin exclaimed as he let his head fall on the table.

Gaius eyed him curiously as he entered in after him. "You didn't eat before the feast?"

Merlin shook his head. "No, I didn't have the chance. That prat of a prince made me clean both his boots and jacket, so by the time I finished, it was time for the feast and I had to go serve Arthur and I never got a chance to eat something myself! And of course Arthur had to get a little tipsy so I had to help him to his room and make sure he was in bed and had a basin next to him so he could throw up!"

"Oh…well I'm truly sorry, Merlin, but I thought you had already eaten."

Merlin looked at Gaius with a frown. "Please tell me you still have some food."

"I'm sorry, Merlin, but I gave away the left-overs to Gwen."

Merlin groaned as he stood up and headed towards his room. "That's fine…I guess…won't be the first time I go to bed hungry." He mumbled.

"Please stop mumbling, Merlin. You know how much I hate it. And are you sure you're not upset?"

Merlin wiped the scowl off his face before looking at his guardian. "No, why would I be?" he said as sarcastically as possibly

Gaius nodded approvingly, either ignoring or not noticing his sarcasm. "Since you're not too upset then, I need you up early to gather some herbs for me in the morning."

"But Arthur said I needed to be there for the ceremony in the morning."

"I know. You can wake up earlier to get that done for me." Gaius turned his back to Merlin as he started writing down a list of all the herbs he needed.

Merlin pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to figure out when he was going to be able to fit breakfast into his morning schedule.

"Merlin!"

Merlin spun around when he heard Arthur coming into Gaius' chambers. He had just gotten back from gathering some of the herbs for Gaius. It had rain sometime in the night and when he went out in the morning, everything was muddy and slippery, making it impossibly hard to find all of the herbs. On top of that, he kept slipping and falling into patches of mud. Merlin had given up when he saw how late it was getting and came back to Gaius' chambers to eat a quick piece of bread before he went to the ceremony.

"Arthur, what are you doing here?" Merlin asked, nearly dropping the bread from surprise.

"What am I doing here? No, Merlin, I should be asking you that! Why are you here when the ceremony was supposed to have started several minutes ago?" Arthur yelled, his face turning slightly red.

Merlin blinked. "It's already started?"

"No, it hasn't started yet because the prince's manservant hasn't come! They can't continue until everyone that was supposed to attend is there. Even if it is just an idiotic manservant they're missing"

"I am not idiotic!"

Arthur sniffed the air and scrunched up his nose. "Ugh, and change shirts! You smell awful!"

"I was outside trying to gather some herbs for Gaius!"

"I don't care what you were doing, just get changed and get to the throne room immediately."

"Yes, sire." Merlin said through clenched teeth as he glared at Arthur.

Arthur glared right back before turning on heel and heading back to the throne room.

Merlin hurried to his room once Arthur left and slipped on a red shirt, not caring that his neckerchief was red as well. With the bread lying forgotten on the table, Merlin ran to the throne room. The guards standing post opened the doors for him.

Once the doors opened, everyone in the throne room turned to look at Merlin, most wearing un-amused looks. Merlin paused at the entrance and chuckled nervously before hurrying to a spot beside Gaius.

"Merlin, why didn't you wash your face?" Gaius hissed as Uther began the introduction.

Merlin groaned. "I've got mud caked on my face, don't I?"

Gaius merely nodded his head, embarrassed by Merlin's appearance.

"Escetia is a kingdom that is rich in land and has many villages that are loyal to their kingdom. Without a king-"

Uther was interrupted by a loud growling sound. Everyone turned to the source, which just so happened to be Merlin. Merlin could feel the tip of his ears burning as well as his cheeks. "Th-that was just my…stomach." Merlin explained quietly.

Nearly all the nobles and royalty in the room rolled their eyes while Arthur shook his head in shame.

Uther cleared his throat. "As I was saying, without a king, Escetia could be ravaged by any of the surrounding kingdoms, slave traders, or bandits. The people would be thrown into a war without a leader guiding them. That is why we are gathered here today. To choose a new king for Escetia."

A much older man stepped forward the moment Uther finished speaking. His head was still full of hair, even if it was snow white. His old, brown eyes told the tale of many years filled with sadness and joy. His clothing looked much finer than anything Uther owned, but he didn't flaunt the fact that he was richer than most in the room.

"I am King Alvarr of Hibernia." He did his best to talk as fast as his squeaky voice would allow him to. His accent was different from most of the people in the room, making it a bit difficult to understand his words. "Today, a new king for Escetia will be chosen."

"Guard, bring out the lots." Uther told the closest guard to him.

King Alvarr raised his hand. "That will not be necessary."

"Then how will the new king be chosen?"

"I will point to him. My eyes will be closed and my inner being will show me."

"But drawing lots is how it's always been done." Pointed out King Bayard. "It's tradition

"It has only been done once because it has only been needed to be done once. But if you choose to consider that a tradition, then more than one tradition will be broken." King Alvarr said ominously. Merlin shifted his weight as he felt King Alvarr look at him for a few moments too long.

"If everyone is prepared, I will begin." He said before closing his eyes and lifting his bony hand with his finger outstretched. He blindly walked around the room, nearly crashing into several people and walls. Just before he could bump into anything, he would turn in a different direction and avoid collision.

"Can Arthur be chosen?" Merlin whispered to Gaius.

"No. Since Arthur is heir to the throne of Camelot, he cannot be chosen. No king or firstborn male heir can be chosen today." Gaius responded.

"So then why do I have to be here? I could be doing a number of other things. I don't even understand why it couldn't have started without me. I am just a servant anyways."

"Merlin, quiet." Gaius hissed.

Merlin sighed heavily as he looked down at his boots. This was ridiculous. Half of his face was covered in mud, his clothes looked horrible, he never finished gathering all the herbs for Gaius, Arthur had a long list of chores for him to do, and his last meal had been about this same time yesterday. He was just ready for one of these pompous men to be made king already so he could leave.

"You. You will be the new king of Escetia."

There were several astonished gasps and Merlin chuckled to himself, still staring at his boots. The old man probably chose Lord Goma, the laziest man in all of Albion. He wondered how that was going to work for the people of Escetia.

"He can't be king!" Uther shouted. "He's a mere servant!"

At this, Merlin lifted his head to see who the lucky servant was. His eyes widened in shock when he saw King Alvarr standing in front of him with his finger pointed directly at him. Merlin blinked a few times before looking around. He laughed softly out of shock. "You…you mean me? You can't possibly mean me."

"No, Merlin, he's probably pointing at Lord Chavis, who is standing behind you." Arthur said, being completely serious.

"I am not pointing at Lord Chavis." King Alvarr said. "I am pointing at the boy. Your name is Merlin, correct?"

Merlin slowly nodded his head, trying to make sense of what was going on.

King Alvarr turned back around to face everyone. "It has been decided!" he proclaimed. "Merlin is the new king of Escetia! Anyone who disagrees will have to speak to me. I can assure you though it will do no use. I have decided and the decision is final."

"You can't expect Merlin to be king! No offense to him, but he's useless!" Arthur exclaimed as he stood up.

"I really am." Merlin added. He cringed as he felt his stomach about to growl again. "I wouldn't know what to do! I can't be king! I know nothing about royal duties or things like that!"

The old man smiled. "Ah, but you can always learn, Merlin. You will be a great king, sire." He said as he bowed to Merlin. "You will leave to your new kingdom in two days. Your subjects eagerly await your arrival. If you'll excuse me, I'm feeling extremely tired. I will be in my room if anyone wishes to speak to me."

With that being said, he bowed to Uther, then Arthur, and finally Merlin and walked out of the room.

There was a dead silence once he left as they all stared at Merlin. Merlin gave a nervous laugh. "I'm sure there's been a mistake-"

"No," Uther said suddenly. He stood up and walked towards Merlin. "There are no mistakes when a new king is chosen. It does not matter how ridiculous the choice is." He said solemnly staring Merlin down from head to toe. He grabbed Merlin's hand, startling Merlin, and raised it up to the air. "Long live King Merlin of Escetia!"

No one really knew if this was some sort of elaborate joke or if this was serious. But after a few moment of King Uther shouting by himself, people slowly started joining him until everyone in the throne room was shouting along with him. "Long live King Merlin! Long live King Merlin!"

There was no way this was happening. Merlin couldn't even believe it himself. He had actually been made King of Escetia.

A cloaked woman stood alone in the forest. She towered over a small basin of water that was held up by a stone pillar. She removed her hood, revealing short, black hair that didn't even reach her shoulders. Her eyes took in her surroundings, making sure no one was hiding behind one of the many trees or a boulder.

Satisfied that no one was watching her, she held her hand over the basin and uttered a few words in a foreign language. Her eyes glowed a bright gold and she waited for the water to reveal what she asked for. The water did nothing.

She let out a low growl as she splashed the water, frustrated at her inability to get the answer she wanted. One way or another, she would find out who the new king of Escetia was and once she did, she could being her work again.