I have overhauled the chapters and cleaned a few things up (Honestly it had to be done, it was driving my OCD crazy). I hope those of you who have read it before will like the changes I have made.

Those of you who are reading this for the first time won't notice, so welcome, enjoy.

And so without further ado here is the first chapter of Destined.

I own nothing associated with Once Upon A Time.

Merlin made his way on the usual path into the woods stopping from time to time to make sure that certain plants were easily accessible if he required them in the future.

He would often bring an extra satchel to transport plants that he would want to grow by his home. Truly he favoured nature over city life. He detested city life all together honestly.

He was also seen as being too eccentric to live among what others called the civilised. But all-in-all he was most happy to live quietly by himself. While he was alone most of the time, he did enjoy visiting a nice lady who called herself Widow Lucas, she would insist that everyone call her Granny, but seeing how Merlin was older than her age it seemed most improper of him to refer to her with in such a way.

'Caw!'

The slightly blued eyed raven called out, which caused Merlin to pull away from his current thoughts.

"What is it Sascha?" Merlin asked softly.

He looked over to his faithful creature companion eyeing her for a moment, then when she did not continue he decided she was just being needy.

The raven flew to a nearby branch and cried out again. Merlin just shook his head trying to ignore her and continued looking at a plant that had caught his eye. But Sascha was not giving in. She started to cry out again this time with more exertion.

"For Odin's sake Sascha what is the matter!?" His voice now was filled with annoyance.

Merlin stood up straight and stared at the raven trying to figure out why she was repeatedly calling out 'hello'. He was not in the mood for her attention seeking behaviour, especially when he was busy with his precious plants.

Sascha fluttered her wings and ruffled her feathers puffing out her chest.

"Don't you start that attitude with me! I'm not the one making all the noise." He waggled a finger at her while walking towards the flustered bird.

Sascha shook her head and fluffed herself out again to spite him. This time instead of calling out to the noise in the distance she decided it best to just go towards it.

Merlin watched her take off deeper into the woods heading north. He frowned slightly now puzzled at her sudden departure. But brushed it off instantly and continued observing the plant.

xxx

Sascha flew through the increasingly dense woods making her way ever closer to the noise that she could clearly hear unlike her Keeper. It set her senses on edge as the wailing got louder. Which caused her have second thoughts on whether this was a good idea still. But the curiosity was far stronger than the building fear.

It was still early in the morning and the fog had almost cleared, initially this caused her miss the creature first flight over, but she quickly adjusted herself and zeroed in on its location.

Sascha expertly landed on the lowest branch on a tree to peer down at the creature before her. Its language was similar to her own which is what had spiked her attention in the first place. But when she tried to communicate with it in her own language again it was completely ignorant.

'Caw, caw, caaaaw!'

The creature stirred beneath her, but did not talk back.

She bobbed her head around and tried to see it in better detail. As she inspected it she had noticed that it was no longer calling out any more. In fact it was completely quite now.

'CAAAWWW!' She called out in a greeting hoping the creature would at least understand 'hello' when it heard it. She thought that it may be deaf, which would explain its speech being difficult to comprehend.

But all these assumptions faded when she recognised what it was.

It was a tiny Human. And her Keeper was the only human that understood her.

She ruffled herself and dove done to get a closer look. Upon landing on the ground the tiny Human gurgled while its little arms flailed around like it was trying to catch something invisible. Sascha thought it was all very strange.

She pulled at the yellow material covering it from the torso down. She wanted to make sure it had legs. Humans have legs she thought, because her Keeper has legs.

The tiny Human's legs kicked back and forth together, much like a frog's legs would.

Sascha was completely confused now. The Human had legs and yet it was not walking. What poor fortune had befallen this Human she wondered.

This was all too much for to deal with, and she took off to get her Keeper. He would know what to do.

xxx

Merlin was inside his little tree trunk cottage using a mortar and pestle. He had found some very exciting new plants and was eager to start experimenting with their potential properties right away.

Meanwhile Sascha flew in through the little window above the front door and perched herself on her stand. She flapped her wings to create enough noise to get her Keepers attention. She thought it best not to call out to him just in case he threw something at her. He had a tendency to throw things when he was mixing plants, he disliked to be interrupted.

Merlin spun around and looked at Sascha while he continued to mash the ingredients.

"My dear what has gotten in to you today? Are you feeling all right?"

Sascha could tell by the tone of his voice that he was generally concerned. It was now or never, she needed his full attention.

'I found tiny Human'

(Merlin was fluent in the languages of animals and so to him Sascha sounded like any other human in conversation)

Upon hearing this he stopped stirring and put down the mortar and pestle onto the table. He slowly stepped towards her with furrowed eye brows.

"What do you mean tiny human?"

'Tiny as in small, but it looks like you, well not exactly like you because you have hair on your face, it did not. At first I thought it was like me because of the language it was speaking, which was similar to mine. I asked it if it was okay but it did not reply. I even greeted it in hopes that it would then talk back, but, but it stopped talking completely.' She paused in mid thought and then continued.

'It has legs though, so I can't see why it can't simply walk-'

"Sascha stop. Just show me where this tiny human is please." He knew that she would just continue talking if he let her. Most of the time he did not mind her blabbering, but this was not a good time to allow it.

Both of them then made their way back out into the woods.

xxx

By night fall the baby had finally fallen asleep allowing Merlin time to sit in front of the fire and contemplate on what had transpired that day.

"I have been completely thrown by this event Sascha."

Merlin turned his head to look at her. He drew a long puff on his pipe and then breathed back out. With the other hand he stroked his long silver beard.

Sascha made a small chirp noise to acknowledge she was listening, but she was also very tired and close to falling asleep.

He looked back at the fireplace and continued to smoke his pipe enjoying the silence that now occupied his home.

"A baby… What on Odin's blessed planet am I to do?" He asked himself quietly.

He put done his pipe and got up from his chair. He knew that he had a book on infants somewhere in his library, and it was probably best to read it now before the baby woke up. He ascended up the ladder into the library and instantly the smell of musty books filled his nostrils.

"Did you know Sascha that I have never been around a baby longer than a week?"

He bobbed and weaved around numerous shelves looking for the exact book he knew had a small amount of information about newborns. He had just a few books on the medical subject but not directly on infants.

"Do you think Widow Lucas will help me? I'd expect her to ask about how it came about…" Merlin knew his bird friend was completely asleep, but he found it comforting being able to voice his thoughts out loud.

"Why Merlin how did you get a baby?! Where did it come from, who does it belong to, and what will you do?" He tried to emulate Granny's voice in a friendly mocking fashion.

As he was about to voice another thought his hand finally fell on the thin book he had been searching for. He quickly grabbed it and went back down to his warm chair. Unfortunately he didn't get far reading it, as the infant stirred and started to wail.

"Oh sweet thing hang on I'm coming." He placed the book down and hastily moved towards the lower part of the house. He had placed the baby on his bed and put a pillow on each side of it to make sure it did not roll away.

He knew a few things, but not enough to be confident in taking complete responsibility. And this worried him greatly. He did not want to make a mistake when it came to a child. He thought them to be the greatest gifts in life, they held so much potential and they needed their parents to help guide them. He had to ensure that it was safe when he returned back it to its parents.

Sascha opened one eye and watched Merlin leave the main room, but she thought it better to leave her Keeper to make sure the Human was okay and so she settled herself to go back to sleep.

xxx

The next morning was proving to be most difficult for both Sascha and Merlin. The baby would not stop screaming, and when it all became too much for the raven she decided to take flight and leave for a quieter scene.

"Traitor!" cried out Merlin seeing Sascha's departure.

He was hoping she could distract the infant while he read a bit more on the different cries babies made for different things. But he also knew that with her sensitive ears the noise may be all too much for her to handle. He huffed in the raven's direction and continued to rock the baby back and forth in his arms.

"Oh little one please stop crying, please, please, please."

The baby's face was now turning red and it caused Merlin to panic. He had no idea what was wrong. He scurried around the kitchen looking for anything to use as a temporary dummy.

"I didn't want to use magic, but I think in this circumstance I may break my own rule."

He pulled the baby close to his chest to hold it with one arm and with the other he conjured a small rubber nipple with a handle on the end. When it had finished manifesting to what he thought was adequate only then did he lowered the baby away from his chest and popped the dummy into its mouth.

Silence.

He plopped himself down in his chair with a sigh of relief.

"Today I think I will go to see Widow Lucas much earlier than usual."

The baby started to wave its arms around and focused on making them come together. It frowned with such concentration as it tried over and over to bring its hands to meet one another. Merlin looked on with such content, and let out a small chuckle as the infant became increasingly frustrated with its arms not doing what it wanted it to.

In that moment Merlin knew that there was something special about this child, that if the parents could not be found he would want to raise the child himself. Of course Widow Lucas would help, and in all honesty he would need all the help he could muster.

xxx

"MERLIN! What on earth are you thinking, do you have any idea how much work children are?!"

As Merlin foretold Widow Lucas was beside herself with the fact he now had a baby in his possession. Granny took the baby from his arms and rocked it back and forth.

"So is it a boy or a girl?" Granny asked as she peppered kisses on its forehead and peered at Merlin.

He stroked his beard trying to buy himself some time before answering her.

"Um… Well you see I haven't needed to change it's under garments and so I have not seen the gender of the child…" He looked at Widow Lucas and the baby while trying to explain himself.

Granny shook her head from side to side. She let out a very audible sigh and walked towards Merlin.

"Well aren't you the guardian of the year," Granny was not pleased with Merlin's lack of attention toward the baby. "Here hold it while I go and get some clothes for the poor mite."

He wasn't hurt by her words, she spoke the truth, and he was not coping at all.

"Lucas please-"

"Widow, Merlin, it's Widow Lucas." She gave him a quick look and then disappeared into a room.

"I'm sorry," He respected whatever title she wished to give herself, and he was terribly tired from being up most the night with the baby. "Widow Lucas, could you please ask your friend to search for any parents who are missing an infant in town?"

He waited for what felt like a long moment before Granny came back with a small stack of baby's garments.

"What that Graham fellow? I'm afraid he won't be back to mine until next season. He has gone back off with a pack and I suspect it may have something to do with the dispute on eastern border."

Merlin blinked at this, he hadn't heard anything about a dispute.

"Dispute? What are you talking about?!" He strode towards Granny with intensity.

"Merlin please don't tell me you of all people have not heard of what has been transpiring in the Eastern Kingdoms?" She eyed him, seeing if his reaction would give her an answer first.

He pressed the infant towards his chest to allow his other hand to become free to stroke his beard at a nervous pace. His eyes were darting while he tried desperately to think of all the possible things that could be going wrong.

"It's all about the Eastern Kingdoms trade agreement not going very well with the Southern Kingdoms, something about unfair profits." Granny explained.

Merlin's stopped his hand half way down his beard. He would have to find out more about this matter at another time. He had something much dire to get through first.

"By Odin's beard, Widow Lucas I can't think of such things at this moment in time, I have a baby to take care of!" He remarked, now holding the infant with both hands rocking it back and forth.

xxx

Granny poured the warm bath water over the baby's belly. She smiled at the infant with such warmth that it started to smile back at her.

"Oh, you're such a beautiful little girl."

Granny playfully pitter-pattered her finger tips across the baby's stomach, then picked up a cloth and started to wash her.

The baby girl had been placed in a small tub which was on top of a dark wooden table in Granny's kitchen. Granny thought it best to take care of her while Merlin took a short break. Honestly what is that man thinking? She wondered to herself.

"Merlin you have a baby girl," Granny turned her head to face the wizard who was sitting quietly on a chair near a window, "Merlin!" She spat, trying to snap him out from his current silent state.

"Hmm, um, oh yes I'm sorry. What is it dear?" He snapped his head towards her as if she had sworn at him rather than just call out his name.

"I said you have a baby girl." She raised a single eye brow at him in question as to whether he was all together there or completely lost to his thoughts.

"Oh that's nice," he answered and then he started to stroke his silvery beard. "I suppose I should start trying to find her parents then." He rose up from the chair and looked out the window.

Granny watched him for a moment and then turned her attention back to washing the infant. She was starting to worry about her friends' behaviour, she knew he was a strange fellow, but he now appeared more so than usual.

"What are you thinking Merlin? You need to tell me what's going through that head of yours"

He stopped stroking his beard and did not turn to look to her, but rather he out spoke towards the window. "I honestly don't think I will find her parents." He looked down at the window seal and closed his eyes. "I think she may have been abandoned for a very specific reason." He now turned his head towards Granny. She could clearly see worry spread across his weathered face.

"Why do you think that?"

Merlin turned back to look out the window once again.

"Think about it dear, she was left out in one of the darkest deepest parts of the woods, and all she had with her been a yellow knitted blanket." He straightened up after realising that he did not closely inspected the blanket she came with. He was too busy fussing over her and making sure that she wasn't hurt.

"By Odin's Gungnir!" He whispered in realisation.

"My lovely lady could you do me the kindest of favours and take care of the baby for some time today while I go check something urgently?" He rushed to grab his hat and staff before heading towards Granny's front door.

"Merlin where are you off to?" Granny asked as she stopped washing the baby. "Honestly you're crazier than usual, I know children can send you up the wall but you haven't had the baby more than a day-" Her words were lost on him as he took off out the door and strode down a path. She figured by his direction he was heading back to his own dwelling.

Granny grabbed the infant and marched to her front door which was still wide open.

"Merlin!" She called out, "Merlin you silly old fool, when will you be back?!" She was still yelling and was sure that if anyone was looking on they would have assumed she was the crazy one. She huffed in annoyance and slammed the wooden door behind her when she went back inside.

"My sweet child you are in for a world of trouble if he doesn't find your parents." She placed the baby back into the tub and finished cleaning her.

Once that was done she dried her off and clothed the infant in a warm green woollen gown and placed a matching coloured coif on her head.

"My daughter use to wear this when she was first born…" Her eyes started to tear at the memory. "Oh but let's not get into that shall we, I have a lovely pair of booties that I know you will look so adorable in." Granny smiled at the infant, but it soon fell away.

"Oh Merlin what have you gotten yourself into?"

xxx

"Emma!" Merlin boomed out from his bedroom. He held the blanket while rushing around the small house. "Sascha I have something very important for you to do."

The raven had her head tucked in a quiff of feathers, trying to appear deep in slumber. She was not excited about the baby any more.

Merlin shook her stand gently to wake her, which in turn caused Sascha to squawk at him in vexation.

'Keeper, why do you bother me so?' She cawed.

"Come now there is much work to be done!" He exclaimed raising a bony finger above his head. "I need you to look for this word in the main town not far from here. I need to know if there are any posters about the baby." He held the blanket up to the bird, showing the name Emma embroidered in dark purple.

Sascha eyed it briefly and then fluffed herself out turning her head away to indicate she wanted to sleep more than read.

Merlin grabbed the stand firmly and shook it hard enough for the raven to topple off. She flapped her wings and to slow her fall to the floor, and shot him a look of utter disgust as best as a bird could.

"You're wearing my patience thin Sascha. Now please do as I ask." He crouched down and showed her the word once more. "Think of it this way, if you find her parents she will not live here with us." He smiled at her, partly because he wanted her to know that he wasn't angry, and the other half was more of a smirk knowing full well that she would find nothing.

'What if I find no word like that anywhere, what then huh? You will still keep her and its' screams will keep me awake.'

"Look I can always conjure a bubble of silence that can be placed over you when you wish to sleep."

'No! I could be attacked and you would never know, I'd cry out and no one would come, I would surely meet my doom!' She puffed herself out at the very thought.

Merlin sighed and pressed his main finger and thumb against the bridge of his nose trying to relieve some of his building frustration. Then he rubbed his entire hand down his face.

He couldn't believe it, here he was Leader of the Druids, High Wizard of Men, and yet he was squabbling with a raven.

"Enough!" He stood back up and folded the blanket up, "You will go into town and try your best to find the word, and you will return this afternoon, I am not arguing with you anymore."

Sascha hopped about a few times trying to decide if she would go back to her perch or do as he commanded. She concluded that she needed some fresh air anyhow and that while she was doing that she would out of boredom look for his stupid word.

A week had passed since Emma had been found, and to Merlin's delight he successfully worked out what the infant's routines were. If he didn't know how to deal with something he would go straight to Widow Lucas for extra help. She was Merlin's only close friend, aside from Sascha, since he decided to isolate himself out in the woods.

It had also been an exhausting week, but a pivotal turning point for Merlin. It had tested him on every level of whether he in all honestly could take care of a baby. And much to his own amazement he was actually kind of good at it.

Expect tonight, he was terrible. Emma wailed and wailed, and everything he tried to sooth her just wouldn't work. It was also far too late of the night to take her to Widow Lucas' place for help, no, he had to work this one out himself.

He rocked her back and forth in his arms pleading for her to settle.

'Cast that silence spell you were going to for me, just, just get it to shut it up!' Sascha had reached her breaking point.

"Honestly Sascha, you don't have to be here, you can go sleep outside if you want. I'm not forcing you to stay." He placed Emma in the wooden crib that Granny had given him.

He did give the silence spell a serious thought, but voted against it. He was afraid not hearing the infant's voice would lead him into a worse situation.

"I need to go and relieve myself, could…" He looked at his companion, "Could you just watch her while I'm gone for a moment?"

Sascha flew over to the end of the crib and hopped about. It was then Emma stopped crying.

Both Merlin and the raven turned to each other in disbelief.

'You have got to be kidding me?!' Sascha exclaimed while continuing to hop up and down the end of the crib. She was afraid if she stopped moving the baby would wail again.

"Perhaps you could try singing to her?" He suggested amusingly while he walked towards the front door. "I shan't be long." He smiled at the raven in her dance like display to keep the infant peaceful, and then he headed outside.

Once Merlin left and she was sure he was far enough away from the house she hopped closer to the Emma's head and peered at her. She watched as the infant waved it's arms around while making gurgling noises.

I don't do this for anyone, runt, so don't think I like you or anything. I'm doing it because it will shut you up. She thought to herself.

Deciding to give the old coots suggestion a go, she tried to remember what other birds sounded like to emulate the tunes to her best abilities.

'tok tok tok, kloo-klak, tok tok tok,kraaak.'

Emma giggled at Sascha's clicks and croaks, which enticed the raven to continue making the noises.

Moments later Merlin came jogging in with a worried look on his face, tying his cord around his waist in the process.

"Sascha are you okay?" Merlin looked at her completely puzzled.

The raven flicked her head up and puffed herself out, letting out a sniff of disapproval.

It was then Merlin realised he had just insulted her. She had taken his advice about singing to the infant seriously, and while it was partly a joke he honestly had thought she would not actually try to sing. Not that ravens couldn't sing, they were very good at mimicking other creatures and even to a degree human speech, but she was no song sparrow.

He chuckled, not at her, but at the whole scene. Sascha did not see it that way though. Clearly reaching the end of being humiliated she took off out the opened window above to door.

Merlin shrugged, he would have called out to her, but he knew she just needed some time to herself.

"Emma I think I just may have wounded Sascha's pride." He leaned down to pick the now quiet baby up. But stopped, one he hadn't washed his hands, and two the baby was actually quite now so there was absolutely no reason for him to disturb her.

xxx

Merlin studied the circular drawing in his book. He ran his index finger across the numbers until he reached the exact numeration that indicated the day.

"My word it's been a complete month already." He was generally surprised at how fast time was passing by. He pulled out his pipe and stuffed a few herbs into the bowl. He brought the bite to his mouth and with a single click of his fingers he lit the other end, gently sucking on the mouth piece to keep the embers burning.

It was his one pleasure in life, his one vice he allowed himself to have. He was fortunate though, he could counteract the negative side effects of smoking with a simple spell. This made him feel a little bias thinking about it now, on one hand he would warn others about the dangers of it, and on the other he was puffing away.

"Horse piss! I'm allowed to indulge in one thing for Odin's sake. I shouldn't feel guilty." He exclaimed bring his fist down with a thump against the wooden table top. He looked down at his clenched fist and slowly unclenched it. Perhaps it was best he just quite it for a while, for the baby's sake.

He emptied his herb satchel out the window and tapped his pipe to also get rid of the ash. He caressed the pipe one last time. It had been a gift to him from someone very special. But refusing to bring old memories about he quickly tucked it away into its pouch where it would stay for quiet sometime.

Merlin knew that there would be significant changes to his lifestyle having a child living with him. He knew all the risks he was taking and the danger it could bring him. He had given it much thought, and even considered Widow Lucas' offer to take her for him. But there was something about Emma that he could not put his figure on.

For some celestial reason he had to be the one to take care of her. He was certain that she had the ability to also cast spells, because she had a certain aura about her. He figured that may be the reason he was originally drawn to her. But lately there was something else niggling under the surface, something darker in the background, maybe not with her, but something to do with her fate. He contemplated that this could be the reason why she was abandoned in the first place.

He stroked his beard thinking about it. Perhaps he could look up a spell that could peer into the girl's possible future or past? But that would be risky and the price for it was too high. No, he would continue to watch over her and trust in his instincts.

Sascha cawed at him and flew onto his shoulder. Merlin smiled and scratched the back of her head. She cooed slightly at him, she enjoyed the touch from time to time.

"I'm very glad you have warmed up to her, she is very fond of you. I'm not surprised though, you are a delightful companion."

Sascha fluffed her plumage out and tried not to answer him, she felt he was baiting her. But his voice did sound sincere, and he may be earnestly giving her a compliment.

'Yes Keeper I do enjoy her company, but not when she is wailing like a banshee though.'

Merlin laughed at hearing this, and for the first time in a long time Sascha laughed along with him.

Here are a few things that will help you the reader understand the story a little better:

The curse was never cast in this AU. I have taken the characters from OUAT and placed them into a completely different reality (I don't know whether I should feel sorry for them or not?), Anyway this is a long story, and Emma and Regina will end up together.

The way the map of the world for this alternate universe works is as follows - The Rulers (and Gods/Goddess) of the North and East (they are aligned with each other by the way) were at war with the Rulers (and Gods/Goddess) of the South and West (who are also aligned with each other). Currently our heroes reside in the Northern lands, but will journey to each land, in due time. The names of places and Kingdoms will appear within the story.

I have used a lot of different mythologies as inspiration. Sometimes I've just used a name, other's I have used most of what is known about person 'X' or 'Y' from ancient history. (I did this because if you're interested in looking up the names of these Gods/Deities, then you'll see why I chosen them for each OUAT character, kinda like my own easter eggs for the readers). I however will not say they are Celtic, Greek, or otherwise, I have left it this out on purpose.