MERLIN / MERTHUR ONESHOTS

Hunger Games AU

AN- i shall start by saying that i haven't watched the hunger games in years, so if it isn't like proper to the series then i apologise. however i will take the general idea and make it my own

this is a request from a while ago
i hope it's to your liking

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Having grown up in Ealdor Merlin had heard horror stories of what the rich did for their entertainment. When he was younger his mother would tuck him into bed at night and whisper prayers into his ears, a prayer for his safety. At first he had never understood the reasoning, Merlin wasn't anybody special, he was just himself. As he grew older he realised that that was the issue- he was a nobody, his life didn't matter, he was purely a being of entertainment.

During his youth he had watched friends disappear, their identities washed away in the rain. Friends that were no longer spoken of, their names never forgotten, only secret. He could remember asking his mother what had happened to them, only for her to hush him and hold him close to her chest as she cried.

It took time for him to accept these losses, to accept the reality of his time. Although his naivety had him at his downfall, he remembered rolling his eyes at his mother- 'Mother, they'll never take me'. He wonders now whether he truly believed that, or if it was a lie he concocted to smother the fear. It was only once Will had been taken, only once Will had been slaughtered for them, that he knew that nobody was safe. Will wasnt a nobody, not to him- they didn't see that somehow.

Wills death had awoken something in him, he never got over that loss. He never accepted that Will could only be a shadow of the past, he fought in Wills memory, fought to keep him alive during his death. Merlin felt guilt, he felt betrayal, he felt weak- it was this that led him to be strong. His mother feared him, she knew he wouldn't harm her, but she knew that he would harm himself in vengeance- that left her with overwhelming terror. Wills mother had lost her son, she could only believe that she had lost hers too.

Hunith heard them before she saw them, the entirety of Ealdore frozen in fear at the sound of them approaching. The sickening drums of the horses hooves galloping towards them, a melody of death, danse macabre. The sea of blood followed, rich linen flowing in the wind, staining their land. In that precise moment Ealdor shared a single tear, a silent goodbye to the one they knew they would lose.

They didn't slow as they crossed the border to their home, it seemed condescending, a mockery of their poverty. The villagers gathered, they had learnt not to cower and hide, only one life had to be lost.

"My name is Sir Owen."
The leading man spoke, his voice poisonous and sharp. They dare not look him in the eyes, instead they studied the floor in respect.
"I shall collect the candidate for the games."
He explained to them, telling it as though they didn't know, as though they were too thick to understand.

The knight remained upon his horse, eyes swarming greedily over the heard.
"Some excellent choices."
He grinned to himself, although his gaze halted over a woman- long brown hair and pale skin, the audience would devour her.
"You."
He pointed a gloved finger to her, it stung like a dagger to the chest. Hunith sunk to her knees in obedience, submissive to his rank.

Merlins heart had shattered, he wouldn't lose his mother.
"No."
He growled, eyes burning gold in his fury.
"No?"
The knight cackled, the reverberation intriguing.
"You will not take her."
Merlin rose his head, shoulders pushing back with an authority he didn't hold. Hunith bit her tongue, struggling to not berate him for his stupidity. The village held a tense atmosphere, they valued their own life over an outspoken boys. Hunith couldn't blame them.