Chapter Text
Camelot Heights sat high in the northeastern hills of Auradon, the Pendragon castle looming over the town of Camelot and seen from any direction for miles like a beacon to the small, old kingdom. A large forest spread south of Camelot itself, leading into Sherwood Forest to peter out towards the town of Locksley. North of Camelot sat Mim’s Gulch, and at the edge of the river that ran through the gulch sat a small cottage. It had been abandoned for years, as far as Carlos had been able to sus out, though in the past few months he had been able to repair it to a point where he had set up a nice little area for himself. It was far enough outside of Camelot that no one questioned his being there, and far enough away from Auradon that he felt the others wouldn’t be able to find him.
He spent most of his time repairing things for the people of Camelot, quickly gaining a reputation as a repairman and a hermit amongst the people who utilized his services. He only offered Diego as his name- fairly certain that no one would recognize him well enough to connect the dots that he was living under his cousin’s name. He was surprisingly happy with the little life he’d managed to carve out for himself, free of his mother and the worry that he was controlling his friends. He missed them, of course- after everything, after the whole disaster that was…well, everything so far in his life, really, he did miss them.
“Diego? Are you home?” He startled slightly at the knock on his door, the soft voice drifting through his open window as he glanced towards it. Setting down the screen he’d been mending for a farmer, he sighed as he moved to open the door, staring at the girl standing before him.
“Mavis. Shouldn’t you be in school right now?” The girl shrugged, leaning to peer into the small cottage as Carlos rolled his eyes at her.
“No? If I was supposed to be in school right now, I’d be there, right? What are you doing? Are you doing work? Come out to the creek with me.” Carlos huffed, shifting slightly to block the doorway as the Mavis attempted to enter the cottage.
“I’m pretty sure you skip school all the time, Mavis. And yes, I’m trying to do work, not that it ever matters to you. Your father’s going to come looking for you as soon as the school realizes you aren’t there, you know that right?” Mavis rolled her eyes, leaning in the doorway as she glared at him. Carlos had grown accustomed to the blonde girl appearing at random to bother him- she had no qualms about asking him questions about his mysterious past, none of which he ever answered.
“Dad can go suck an egg, school’s boring Diego. You don’t go to school.” She gave him a look, and he sighed, moving to exit the cottage.
“Because I’ve already completed my schooling and stuff. That’s why I moved here, remember? To find work because I was out of school? Ring a bell?” She shrugged, looking disappointed as he locked the door. “Come on, I’ll walk you to school. I have to go into town anyway.” He gestured for her to start walking and she sighed heavily, shoving her hands into the pockets of her skirt as she let him lead the way.
“Your life is just so much more interesting than anything they could teach me at school, you know? And dad won’t let me do anything fun, I’m always stuck either in classes or in political meetings with him and it’s boring. Don’t you want me to be less bored?” Carlos snorted, shaking his head a little.
“I’m pretty sure my life’s pretty boring, actually, and you really should be paying attention to the things your dad wants you to learn, Princess. Why don’t you ask him for something fun for you to do while you’re doing lessons? Like...didn’t you want to do combat training and stuff with Gawaine? I’m sure your dad would let you if you asked him.” She shrugged, picking at the hem of her skirt as they started towards the town.
“He doesn’t want me to get caught up in learning to be a knight before I learn politics. It’s always ‘No Mavis you can’t just hit someone if you disagree with them’ or ‘what if they want you to figure out a famine crisis, Mavis’. It’s never ‘what do you want to do today, Mavis?’ It’s like he doesn’t even care about what I want.” She pouted, and Carlos frowned at her words. He knew the king loved his daughter- from the few interactions he’d had with both, he could easily see that Arthur doted on the girl.
“He just wants what’s best for you, Mavis. You should...you should talk to him. He loves you a lot.” She frowned, turning to look at him as she walked the road backward.
“You’re supposed to be on my side, Diego! He’s so controlling!” Carlos shivered, his mind darting to his mother, her tight fingered grip on his arm as she dragged him around, her sharp slap and bitter words.
“He’s really not that bad...trust me.” Something in his tone caused Mavis to pause, wide eyes watching Carlos as he shoved his hands into his pockets and stepped past her. “Be thankful that he cares about you enough to want you to be the best you that you can be, alright?” She gave a nod, and Carlos gestured towards the large stone building looming before them. “You should get to class.” She nodded again, and he offered her a small smile. “Just...trust me. You’re dad’s a good person who only wants the best for you. Okay?”
“...yeah. Okay. I justs...it’s frustrating, you know?” He didn’t; Cruella never wanted to make him into a better person. Obviously. She’d never taken an interest in trying to guide him or help him, or anything that Arthur seemed to do- just abuse, torture, and negligence.
“Uh. Yeah. Totally.” He gave a half-hearted smile, waving as she made her way into the school before slumping, running a hand through his now black hair. “Evil, these USA kids have weird issues.” He muttered, turning to continue walking into the inner market of the town. He liked Camelot- not too technologically advanced, with most of the buildings simple wood and stone made, but with enough technology around that he could get his hands on parts, things to fiddle with to keep his mind sharp. The dirt and stone roads made him think of the Isle, though much cleaner and well made, with a certain sort of olden design in mind as far as he could discern from talking to the townspeople. Everything was simple, easy, natural in the town; Carlos was pleased with the dark browns and greys that build the colour palette of the town, as opposed to Auradon’s almost blindingly bright aesthetic. It felt as much like home as he figured he’d get.
“Diego? My boy, I didn’t expect to see you in town today!” Carlos jumped at the sudden voice behind him, and he turned to look at the man standing behind him.
“Oh, hello Merlin. I, er, wasn’t expecting to come into town today? Mavis showed up at my place and I figured I should bring her back to school, maybe pick up some groceries. How are you?” He liked Merlin- the old man seemed to have the ability to know when Carlos was getting overwhelmed, or when to steer a conversation in another direction. He often asked Carlos to help him in his workshop, getting him to help gather potion ingredients and take dictation for spells and magical theory…
Carlos couldn’t help but think of how happy Mal would be in his place.
“Ah, I’m fine, my boy. Just fine. And I’m not surprised that Mavis skipped out of classes today, she handles arguments with her father the same way Arthur use to handle ones with his own. I have some shopping to do myself, why don’t you accompany me? I’d like to talk to you.” Carlos raised his brow but nodded, moving to walk with the elderly man as they started down the road again.
“Of course, Merlin. What can I do for you?” He still wasn’t used to the idea of people talking to him just to talk- usually, people wanted something when they went out of their way to converse with him. Merlin chuckled, reaching to lightly pat Carlos’ shoulder and not commenting on the small flinch the action caused.
“Just keep an old man company, that’s all. Not everyone who talks to you wants something; in fact, some people wish to simply help you instead, Carlos.” Carlos nodded before his eyes widened and he stilled at Merlin’s words.
“I...my name is Diego, Merlin. Are you alright?” Merlin chuckled, reaching to grasp a few strands of Carlos’ hair with a smile.
“It takes more than a little hair dye and some makeup to hide your freckles to disguise yourself from me, my boy. You aren’t in trouble, and I’m not about to hand you over to your friends...the ones who are desperately seeking you out. I simply wish to know why you’re hiding in Camelot when you have several people who seem to care very much about you returning to Auradon?” Carlos frowned, sinking into himself at the question.
“I...it’s personal. Why haven’t you turned me in yet? How long have you known?” He knew that there was a reward for his safe return to Auradon. Knew that if most people knew who he was they’d probably turn him in to get the monetary prize returning him would bring. There was no real reason for Merlin not to turn him in, really.
“Dear child, no one in Camelot has any desire to turn you in. We’ve known for months who you really were...at least, the adults in town have. You’re a very smart boy, Carlos, but you don’t always see what’s right in front of you. You help the people here...and you clearly ran for a reason. No one is seeking you out for a crime done, so why would we send you back to a place you clearly have no interest in being? We’re a simple town. There are a lot of people here just looking to live their lives.” Carlos stared at him, confusion written on his face as he contemplated the man’s words.
“You...don’t want the reward money?” He asked, not understanding. Merlin chuckled, shaking his head.
“No. What I would like is your assistance in the lab today, if you have nothing else to do.” Carlos raised a brow and Merlin offered a shrug. “You’re much more precise than Arthur ever was.” Carlos frowned, giving Merlin a side-eye as they continued to walk.
“I...suppose I could do that. You’re certain this isn’t an elaborate plot to turn me in?” Merlin snorted, waving his hand at him.
“That is far too much effort for this old man, Carlos. Besides, you’re from the Isle.” He leveled him with a look, more serious than Carlos had seen the old man yet. “I doubt we’d be able to turn you in without you disappearing on us.” It was true- Carlos had several well-plotted escape routes already in place from nearly every part of Camelot, including hidden bags full of things he might need if he had to run. He was prepared to drop everything at the first sign of any of his friends catching on to where he was.
“You’re right. I would be out of here before you could even contact them.” He nodded, shifting on his heels and taking the basket that Merlin was holding from him. “So...I’m prepared. Keep that in mind. And a light sleeper.” Merlin nodded, gesturing towards the castle.
“Of course. Now, Diego...shall we?” Carlos shrugged, then gave a nod.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”