Prologue

UPDATE FOR STORY FOLLOWERS 7/25/16: The prologue of the sequel to this story, The Battles We Cannot Evade, has just been posted! Hurray! I look forward to hearing your opinions on it! :)

Hello!

This is going to be my first multi-chapter fic for Merlin! Bear in mind that this is just the prologue, therefore it isn't terribly specific about places or people (I tend to do that with prologues); the next chapter is set in Camelot.

Also consider that this is an AU set after Season 4, and that it kind of messes the backstory of one of the characters (you'll see what I mean later), so if you're a person who's completely devoted to the histories set down in the show, this story is probably not the best read for you.

Rated T for violence, probably nothing terribly graphic.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Why must it rain so hard?

The teenage boy grumbled indistinctly to himself, trying to readjust the hood that kept slipping off his tangled dark hair. He peered forward through the drenching sheets as he urged his gray mare to a trot.

Just ahead of him, his father, mounted on a bay stallion, turned to give him a reassuring look. "We're almost home!" he called through the sound of the drumming raindrops.

The boy tried to smile back, but he was honestly too wet and miserable to care much about anyone's feelings but his own. Why, oh why had he wanted to join his father on this trip? If he could go back in time and change his decision.

Two days. Two whole days in the pouring rain. Much as he loved to travel, there were limits on what the boy would willingly tolerate.

He hated rain. And being hungry. And waking up too early. Especially waking up too early.

He glanced up briefly, hoping to see through the trees a break in the rain clouds above, but was only rewarded with a face-full of cold water. For a while after that he kept his gaze on the muddy path visible to him between his horse's ears.

So he didn't see the bandits until they were almost on top of him.

He heard his father yell his name just as he was pulled from his saddle. His mare reared and whinnied loudly as two bandits yanked the boy off of her and dragged him to the side of the path.

They underestimated him. Kicking one of them in the knee, he twisted violently to free himself from the clutches of the other. The sword that rarely he wore but rarely used except in training was out of its scabbard in an instant.

He brought down one of his attackers with a sweeping blow, red blood splashing drenching the silver blade. The other bandit took longer; but the boy had trained with a sword for almost as long as he could remember, and he soon brought the thug down.

Looking up from his kills, he saw his father attempting to fight off three bandits at once. Another caught sight of the boy and raced towards him, shouting for one of his companions to follow.

The teenager dashed off a short distance through the trees, wanting to draw at least a couple of the outlaws away from his father. Though his father was an exceptionally skilled swordsman, he was not by any means invincible. Why, oh why had they decided to travel alone this time? Why hadn't they brought any guards?

As he heard the men coming up behind them, he whirled, his blade flashing through the air, silver stained with red. Somehow it didn't bother him; the blood, or the fact that he'd just killed two people.

Within a few minutes, he'd killed two more.

Gasping for breath, blood oozing from a cut on his left arm, the boy sank down behind a large tree. He could no longer hear the clashing of metal on metal that had so recently been coming from where he had last seen his father. He didn't even hear the horses; they'd probably run off.

Sometime during the fight, the rain had begun to slacken. A few slender tendrils of sunlight made their way down from the clouds, bathing patches of the woods in a soft golden radiance. Light struck the water droplets clinging to leaves and branches, turning them to sparkling diamonds.

It all felt surreal to the boy, who remained half-crouched behind the tree, listening intently for sounds of pursuit while at the same time feeling as if he wasn't truly present.

I just killed four people.

He'd never killed before. Not a person, at least; animals, yes. But that was different.

They were trying to kill you. You had no choice.

Yes, he'd had no choice. He'd defended himself. It certainly wouldn't be the last time he'd have to…

The snapping of some twigs alerted him to the presence of someone else. Someone who was extremely close to his hiding spot.

The boy reacted. Quickly.

He lunged to his face and swung around the tree, driving his blade into the person who had come after him. It was over swiftly.

Too swiftly.

He hadn't thought about it. He'd acted completely without considering the results. Hadn't that always been a failing of his? Hadn't that always been where he'd gone wrong?

But it was too wrong this time. Far too wrong to be righted. Ever.

Because the bloodied tip of his sword was now sticking out of his own father's back.

It was hours later, miles away, before his body finally reacted. He fell down in the middle of a stony gully and threw up violently, vomiting over and over again until not even bile came up. Then he crawled into a narrow crevice nearby, shaking all over.

Why?

Such a tiny word that asked so much.

He only spent a few hours in the gully before he began to move again, trekking quickly through the woods. When he reached an unfamiliar path, he took it, moving farther and father away from the lands he knew. He had to get away.

The days and nights blurred together. The roads and villages all looked the same. He lied about his age and family if anyone bothered to ask. He gambled and drank excessively, making enemies wherever he went. Not that he needed another excuse to keep traveling.

Farther. Farther. He had to keep fleeing.

No matter how far he traveled, however, he couldn't forget what he'd done.

The shouts. The blades clashing. The blood all over his sword. Blood that should not be there.

He couldn't forgive himself, either. He wouldn't.

Ever.

There it is! I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible!

Reviews are very much appreciated!