Maybe he'd be more confused, if he wasn't so bloody tired.
As it happened, Merlin had spent the day before running errands for Gaius and then getting shouted at by Arthur. Then he'd been forced to spend the whole night cleaning the prince's armor, only to be dragged from bed just minutes after he laid down and told to ready the horses for a hunting trip. And, of course, after a long day of shooting things and ordering Merlin about, Arthur was absolutely exhausted and therefore Merlin should keep first watch.
Honestly, he might've assumed the three strangers and the blue thing were a trick of his sleepy mind, if not for the bizarre clothes. Merlin doubted even his mind could have come up with anything like they were wearing. He certainly wouldn't imagine a woman in as short a skirt as the ginger lady was wearing, which he was currently not looking at. Just as his ears were not turning red.
"We're lost. Again," she said, rolling her eyes at one of the men, who was wearing a pointed hat and looking around excitedly. The other man, standing close by her side, was looking incredulously between Merlin and his friends.
"No, Amelia, we are exactly where we meant to be. Camelot!" he jumped around a bit and waved his arms, looking very pleased with himself. He glanced at Merlin, seemingly noticing him for the first time. "And this is… what? After King Arthur's coronation," he examined Merlin's face, but didn't wait for a reply. "but a bit before magic is legalized."
"What now?" Merlin groaned, rubbing his temples. "Who are you lot?"
The man in the hat looked at his companions before pulling something out of his pocket. He gestured at himself and the others in turn. "Doctor, Amy, Rory. Travelers from the distant land of Gallifrey, here on behalf of the king," he said, thrusting a piece of paper at Merlin.
Merlin looked at the paper, irritated, then back at the man. "That's blank. Where's Gallifrey, exactly? I've never heard of hit, and I'm sure it'd be in one of Gaius's books." Merlin didn't say if that's a real place, but it was fairly implicit. The Doctor looked fairly impressed.
"What did you say your name was?" he asked.
Merlin wondered whether he should give his name to three possibly dangerous and deranged strangers, but something about the Doctor seemed trustworthy enough. He was briefly reminded of Kilgharrah, there was something about him that seemed quite old, even if he didn't look it. Doesn't mean he isn't dangerous, Merlin acknowledged. "I'm Merlin. The King's manservant."
The other traveler, Rory, stared at him with a shocked look on his face and muttered, "No way." Amy, the ginger, looked sort of confused. "Doctor? I thought Merlin was supposed to be all," she made a vague gesture Merlin though was supposed to be a beard. "old?"
"Um… do I know you?" Merlin asked, bewildered. Maybe this was all a hallucination after all.
"You don't, Emrys, but you're quite the legend where they're from," the Doctor said, a grin on his face and a glint in his eyes. "Merlin, Guinevere, Morgana, Arthur and the Knights. It's a popular story." At Merlin's look he added, "Of course, the stories aren't entirely accurate."
"You aren't travelers," Merlin said, forcing his voice level. "Where are you really from? And what are you doing here?" He felt his magic stir in response to his suspicion.
"Er, we are travelers, actually," Rory piped up, looking sheepish. "We're nice! Amy and I just wanted to see Camelot, and we don't always end up where we're going but it worked this time, I guess."
"We're from the future," the Doctor said brightly. "the box can travel through space and time. It's a bit like magic."
Merlin considered this for a minute while the other three talked amongst themselves. When he finally came to a conclusion, he spoke up.
"Alright, I have one last question." he paused, and the Doctor and his friends focused intently on his face. "Does everyone wear ridiculous hats in the future?"
The Doctor looked quite put out, but Amy started laughing hysterically, and Merlin felt himself grinning despite his exhaustion. He answered a few questions for them - Rory had eventually raised an eyebrow and asked if there really were dragons, and then if there were unicorns too. Before long they were ready to run off and explore, though Merlin was a bit anxious at the idea of these odd strangers running around Camelot.
"Mer-lin!" Arthur shouted from the camp, making Merlin roll his eyes.
"Was that?" Amy asked Rory quietly. The Doctor gave them a look that reminded Merlin of Arthur's gleeful expression as he listed off chores for his manservant.
"That'll be Arthur. Er, if you three could stay out of sight? I've had enough of sneaking people in and out of Camelot, and you don't exactly blend in."
Merlin ran off to Arthur, but he could have sworn he heard someone say 'destiny' behind him. When he got back to camp, Arthur glowered at him.
"Where did you run off this time, Merlin? Spot another unicorn, or something even more girlish?" he taunted. "I heard voices in that direction, did you see anyone?"
"If I spotted another unicorn, I'd hardly tell you after last time. And the forest is perfectly empty, except of course for a clotpole of a King and his beleaguered servant. Sire."
The rest of the hunting trip was as awful as any other hunting trip, of course. By the end, Merlin had to practically drag himself through Gaius's workshop to his room. When he woke it seemed no one had heard anything about strange travelers or sorcerers, so at least the Doctor and his friends had taken his advice.
Mostly, anyway, he thought, as he listened to Gwaine tell the knights about the beautiful red-hair maiden he'd seen while out on patrol. Merlin watched the knights and Arthur and they trained, and wondered if the Doctor had been telling the truth about the legends. And magic. Something told him that he was.