Unexpected Journey: The Beginning

by AB.FictionWriter

Here begins the journey of Merlin...on an adventure that will take him far from Camelot, and send its King on one of his own. 1st in the 'Unexpected Journey' series.

No copyright infringement intended. I own only my original characters, and the storyline.

Unexpected Journey: The Beginning

Chapter 1

Present day

"MERLIN!"

No reply.

"MERRR…LINNN!"

Arthur, King of Camelot, threw open an old, wooden door. It crashed with a loud BANG! into the shelf lining the wall behind it, sending stocks of drying herbs tumbling to the stone floor. Giving no notice to the destruction he had just caused, Arthur strode into his court physician's chambers, angry.

The King's eyes fell upon his elderly physician. The man was, himself, looking between his fallen stocks and his sovereign with a raised eyebrow, a frown, and hands poised on a pestle.

"Gaius," said Arthur, with fire burning in his blue eyes. "Where is he? What is the meaning of this?" The king brandished a missive in his hand.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty." Gaius said, recognising the piece of paper. "He has left."

Arthur sputtered. He had not been expecting such an answer as brief as the one given, and certainly not one confirming that his silly manservant had indeed resigned. Gathering himself, the King puffed himself up to stand as straight and tall, and as dignified as possible.

"You lie."

Gaius sighed deeply. He put the pestle down onto his cluttered table, and slowly turned to face the King.

"I do not lie, Sire. He has resigned…and he has left Camelot."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?" the immediate response came.

Arthur's eyes darkened with renewed fury. My manservant is an idiot, he thought. With that in mind, he swiftly departed from Gaius' chambers, pulling the door shut harshly as he stormed away.

Chapter 2

2 days previously…i.e. Day 1

"…and remember, Merlin, to pick up the honey on the way back. Mary quite clearly indicated that her sister will be selling the lot if you forget this time."

"Yes, yes," Merlin huffed. He struggled for a moment to sling a bag over his shoulders. In it, his supplies for a day's journey into the forest and back were securely stored. Hopefully, he would return before the day's end, but having experienced many things not always favouring his hectic schedule, he had packed enough food and water to last a couple of days. Just in case.

"Now," continued Gaius as he watched his ward sheath a sword into the belt around his thin waist. It was an unusual sight to see the black-haired boy armed. "You'll want to gather the sticklewort near the Castle Balch ruins. Percival mentioned the plants were in bloom there already, and I need some for Lord Ellsworth's potion. Be sure to collect the roots too."

Merlin grimaced. Lord Ellsworth had been pestering his mentor for days now, hounding the old physician to procure him a potion to cure his blotchy skin. Apparently, the man was anxiously anticipating the arrival of Lady Deidre, a noblewoman, who had recently inherited her father's land on Camelot's eastern borders. Her impending arrival had stirred up the entire city.

It had not helped that her status as a single woman – a rich, young, single woman –had caused a stir among the men. It mattered not whether they were single, engaged or married. They all wanted a chance to see the lady who had been kept cloistered in her fathers' manor until he had died. Stories of her unrivaled beauty had spread through the upper and lower towns within hours of the council receiving word of her intention to visit the King.

Which was how Merlin, personal manservant and secret, magical protector to the King of Camelot, ward and apprentice to the Court Physician, and all-round every Camelotian's favorite person, found himself preparing to head out into the Darkling Woods on an urgent trip to gather herbs.

Gaius' stocks had significantly been depleted since Arthur had officially announced a fortnight ago, that Lady Deidre would be visiting the castle. The physician had found himself busier than ever, dealing with everything from the courtiers requesting daily ointments to treat their pimples to the knights demanding balms to heal their wounds faster. No one wanted to miss the Lady's arrival, and everyone wanted to impress her with their good looks and fine form.

Everyone, except Merlin it seemed. Everywhere he went, servants had been scuttling about, sweeping long forgotten corridors, mending torn tapestries and generally giving the castle a thorough cleaning. Not even Arthur had escaped the need to improve on his self. He had taken to spending an hour or two, practicing his speeches and dancing, before retiring each night during the past two weeks. Merlin had asked him why he felt the need to do so when he was obviously already a happily, married man…with a toddler, and another heir on the way. It was not like he was required to court the Lady. Queen Guinevere would have a word or two to say about that.

Arthur had simply glared at him, and made Merlin clean the stables…for an entire week straight. No need to say then that Merlin simply went with the flow after that. He had become outnumbered with both Gwen and Gaius insisting it was all in his head. The preparations were no more than what was expected for an important guest, or so he had been told.

Merlin sighed. Lady Deidre was finally arriving tomorrow. Arthur had sent a small patrol of knights to greet and escort her on the way into the city. Gwaine had jumped at the opportunity. Merlin wished he had not. It was going to be a long day and he could use the company.

On the other hand, he could use the free time to do some practicing of his own. The last few days had left him tensed from Arthur's nagging to ensure the entire castle was prepared in time, and he was drained too from all the extra work he had taken on to help Gaius. Flooded by the demands of the nobles including Lord Ellsworth's, Gaius had been forced to accept Merlin's help in the lower town. Babies were still being born, and people still had minor ailments to resolve despite the fuss being made over the Lady's arrival.

Merlin would be grateful for a couple of hours rest when she was gone. For now at least, he could take advantage of the few hours respite he had…especially from Arthur.

Picking up an empty, woven basket, Merlin took his leave of Gaius and set out through the castle.

Chapter 3

He had almost made it down the short flight of stone steps when he nearly tripped over something.

Doing a double-take, Merlin laid eyes upon the golden-haired child of Arthur and Gwen.

Amr. The three-year-old heir to the throne. Yet to lose his baby fat, and yet to learn not to run around on his own. However, that did not seem to stop him from breaking out into insane chatter when he spotted Merlin, who bent to scoop him up in his arms.

"What are you doing here, Amr?" Merlin questioned seriously. There was no sign of Gwen, Arthur, or the nursemaid around. "Did you hide from Sera again?"

Amr, recognizing Merlin's tone, immediately became stiff, dropped his head, and nodded.

Merlin huffed. He shifted the little prince to one arm and turned to head back inside. If Gwen found out Sera had let Amr slip from her sights again, she would be out of a job. And Arthur would probably throw a fit and have her executed. Merlin shook his head at his thoughts. He too was annoyed that Sera had allowed Amr to go unattended for so long. The child was adventurous and needed to be watched as all children should be.

"Uncle Merwin?"

Merlin's eyes met those of the young prince's. They could really be related if a stranger did not know any better. Their eyes were the same shade of blue, both their faces fae-like, with ears deemed too big for their heads. Arthur had indeed thrown a brief fit when he noted the similarity between his son and servant, but had quickly stopped when his wife had pointed out how hurt Merlin had been by his mocking words. Realising that, indirectly, he was mocking his own son, Arthur had not made mention of that particular feature of his son ever again. Instead, he had been content to show off his firstborn, with golden locks and light brown skin to all of his well-wishers at the time of his birth.

"Hmmm?" Merlin continued towards the prince's chambers.

"Am I in twouble, Uncle Merwin?"

"What makes you think that?" Merlin asked.

"You look angwy. And I runned away from Sewa," said the prince.

"You ran away," Merlin corrected. He paused to set Amr on his feet and stooped to the boy's level. "And, yes. I am a bit angry. But, not entirely at you." Merlin placed a hand on Amr's shoulder. "What were you doing outside? Where's Sera?"

"I'm sowwy, Uncle," said Amr. "Sera told me to stay, but I wanted to go see Papa twian. I runned away when she was not looking."

"Ran away," said Merlin, again. "Look, Amr. What you did was wrong. You could have gotten hurt. Sera is probably going crazy looking for you. What say we take you back to her?"

Amr nodded again. He let Melrin lead him by the hand now, as they made their way through the lengthy corridors. How Amr had found his way this far, Merlin did not know, but that only meant that Sera had either been cleverly deceived by the three-year-old, or she had again seriously slipped in her duties. Merlin felt his annoyance return. In fact, it grew as the duo neared the prince's chambers.

Where were the guards? If they had been on duty – as they should – Amr would never have been able to leave his room, far less make it almost all the way down to the courtyard.

Pushing the heavy door open, Merlin let Amr slip away into the room. Richly decorated with expensive drapes and furniture, the little prince sank in the midst of it all to begin playing with toys gifted to him by his parents and nobles alike.

Again, Merlin was unnerved by the lack of anyone searching for, what was supposed to be, a missing prince. He knew Arthur was down in the training field and Gwen was occupied in the kitchens organizing the feast for tomorrow, but surely Sera would have raised an alarm by now if she had discovered the prince gone from his room.

Hearing murmurs coming from the antechamber, Merlin set his basket on the floor and approached the small room.

Sera was inside. And she was not alone.

Another servant Merlin recognized as one of the kitchen staff, was twirling around Sera, while the nursemaid giggled and laughed. A couple of dresses lay over a chair, and as Merlin continued to observe the pair through the door left ajar, Sera grabbed one of the dresses and began to pull it over her uniform.

Merlin had seen enough.

He threw the door open.

Chapter 4

"What the hell is going on here?!"

The women almost screamed at the abrupt entrance of Merlin, but they settled for gasping in fright and holding their hands to their heaving chests.

"Sera?" Merlin stared at her waiting for an answer.

"Mer – Merlin," she said. "You gave us a fright. Uh, I uh… I was just cleaning out the prince's chambers. Lucille here came to help me."

"Really?" said Merlin. He moved to grasp the remaining dress off the chair. "Dresses in the prince's chambers? Did you find them here?"

"What? No. Ha ha," Sera laughed. Lucille was fidgeting under Merlin's glare.

"Do you want to know what I think?" When both women remained silent, Merlin continued. "I think you both brought these dresses here to try on, to decide what to wear for the arrival of Lady Deidre tomorrow. In the meanwhile, you have both deserted your duties. You, Lucille, hiding from the work going on in the kitchens below. And you, Sera, abandoning the prince for frivolous activities!" Merlin finished with a roar.

"Wha -? No, no, no," said Sera. She rushed past Merlin to stand next to the prince. Amr had risen to his feet and was looking between Merlin and Sera.

"I did not abandon the prince. He's right here!"

"He wasn't a while ago when I found him on the steps going down to the courtyard."

Merlin's accusation was met with silence. Lucille had been edging out towards the main door, but Merlin noticed and halted her with a look.

"You are both fired."

That brought forth a soft scream from Sera. Lucille had burst into tears, sobbing and muttering under her breath, but Merlin paid her no mind.

"You can't! You can't," said Sera.

"I can," said Merlin. "And I did."

"You bastard!" Sera screamed.

Again, Merlin paid them no mind. It was within his rights as the King's personal servant to hire and dismiss staff, but he had left that duty entirely to Gwen when she became Queen, as well as to the castle steward. Glancing at the prince, he spotted the confusion and fear on Amr's face and rushed to lift the boy into his arms again. He was about to leave the room when Gwen burst in, followed by two guards.

Chapter 5

"What is going on here?" the Queen demanded. She looked at her son, his small face hidden in the crook of Merlin neck.

"M- my lady," Sera gasped. "Please, I did nothing wrong. Merlin fired us!"

Merlin could see Gwen's surprise at the sudden accusation.

"Merlin?"

Merlin looked at Gwen. Then he glanced down at Amr still clinging to him.

Gwen sighed.

"Guards, please request Naths to come to the prince's chambers immediately. Merlin, please escort Sera and Lucille to the council chambers. I'll be along shortly."

Merlin handed Amr over to his mother, and picked his basket off the floor. He did not wait for the women. His annoyance at them for putting the prince in danger was still gnawing at him. So he proceeded to the council chambers, basket swinging and his shoulders tense. He could sense the holes the two women were boring into his back as they followed him.

Thankfully, Gwen arrived quickly and made them each recount their story. Merlin saw her twist her lips when he gave his reason why he thought they were lacking in their duties, but whether Gwen agreed with him or not, she made no comment and could not ignore that facts, especially when Amr had admitted to her that Merlin had found and brought him back to his room.

Sera and Lucille, upon realizing that they had indeed been fired, could only leave, but not without throwing sour looks at Merlin on their way out.

"I guess Naths will be taking over as nursemaid now?" Merlin turned to Gwen.

"Yes," she said. "Merlin, I have to ask. Why did you have to bring Lady Deidre into this? Her reputation will be sullied before she even arrives. "

Merlin's jaw dropped.

"Are you serious? You just heard for yourself. They admitted to abandoning their duties, abandoning Amr, all in an effort to dress to impress her. What's so special about her? Why is everyone acting like she's some…Queen…instead of a regular noblewoman? Why are you getting carried away by all this?"

Gwen, seated at the head of the council table, looked at Merlin standing at the other end.

"I don't know, Merlin. All I know is that Arthur, his councilors, my father…everyone deeply respected her father. Arthur requested we show her the same respect, so we shall."

"Yes, but respecting her father and her are not the same, Gwen."

"Merlin, please," said Gwen tiredly. "Give it a rest. She'll be here tomorrow. I know it's been hectic getting things ready. There's still so much to do. Just leave it."

Merlin took that as a dismissal. He nodded to Gwen and left her seated. His annoyance was back.

Chapter 6

He had lost good time due to this morning's incident. Leaving the council chambers, with Gwen's words niggling at him, he had stormed past the training grounds, ignoring Arthur who had heckled at him on his way out of the castle grounds.

Honestly, one would think the clotpole would have grown out of his prattish behavior by now, Merlin had thought.

Now, he was knees deep in the bushes, searching for the herbs Gaius had clearly listed for him. He had found most already. All that remained to be gathered were the lavender and of course the sticklewort. For those, Merlin decided he would have to circle back to the old ruins of the Castle Balch for the sticklewort, and finally just gather the lavender along the road back to the city.

Merlin hated going to the old ruins. He had first laid eyes on the crumbling structure while on a hunting trip with Arthur. The prince, as Arthur was then, had literally dragged Merlin into the ruins by his neckerchief, complaining about the continuous rain and demanding Merlin make a stew from the single rabbit they had caught after hunting for two days. It was not Merlin's fault that Arthur had not managed to shoot the large buck he had been tracking. How was it Merlin's fault that rain happened to wash away the deer tracks each time Arthur managed to find them?

Eventually, the prince had given up, sour with disappointment that the buck had escaped. The rains had come down even harder then, slowing their return home. Arthur had recognised the area, and had led Merlin to the ruins to seek shelter for the night.

He remembered standing, looking at the mass of old bricks and stone through the rain. His focus had been on the large, stone altar, situated in the middle of what must have been the courtyard once. His observation of the mostly intact table compared to the rubble around it had been interrupted when Arthur grasped him by the neck to pull him out of the rain, and into the castle itself. Not that much was left of it, but the overgrowth of trees and vines had formed a thick canopy over the main entrance, and the raised concrete floor lifted them off the wet forest ground.

So, they had spent the first of many nights there, a perfect, overnight shelter on long hunting trips, each time Merlin unable to sleep. He had learnt from Arthur that the castle had been destroyed during the purge. Unsure of why the stone feature had kept his attention, Merlin had avoided passing near the altar, but always eyed it warily when he had glanced in its direction.

He carefully made his way through the rubble now, stooping ever so often to uproot a plant from the ground. On closer inspection, he found that he had not collected enough of the herb to satisfy Gaius, and not wanting to come back here just for sticklewort, Merlin edged closer to the stone alter where it was surrounded by the plants.

He was bent low next to the altar when a fluffy blur raced past him. The sudden movement threw Merlin off balance, sending him crashing sideways into the altar. He managed to brace himself with his hands on the altar's side, stopping his head from knocking into the stone.

Looking up, Merlin huffed in amazement when he spotted the cause of his almost-fall. A brown rabbit. Its ears twitched as it looked back at the warlock, dipping its head to nibble at the grass, and then dashing away again when Merlin straightened up.

"Rabbits," Merlin scoffed. He dusted his hands off on his breeches. But, before he could resume his herb picking, his eyes were caught by the markings on the surface of the altar. Druidic symbols neatly carved into the border of the stone top. Merlin traced his fingers over them, recognising some of the symbols, and mentally recording some of the others he did not. His curiosity led him around the altar to stop at a particular symbol that sent his heart pounding.

A dove, centred on a cross and both encircled together.

A sigil. Igraine's sigil.

What the hell?

Merlin backed away from the altar. He could think of no explanation for the presence of the sigil on what was obviously a table once used for magical purposes. As far as he knew, Queen Igraine had had no magic of her own, nor had she descended from a family of sorcerers. Did Arthur even know this was here? Is that why the altar lay intact despite the surrounding destruction? Had Uther been the one to order that the altar be left undamaged in the hopes of keeping it as a monument to his late wife?

With these questions and more raging through his mind, Merlin hurriedly turned to pull up a last bundle of sticklewort. He had no intention of hanging around there any longer.

He was clumsily stashing the herbs into the overflowing basket when the hair on his arms and neck stood on end. His attention was once more captured by the altar. Or more accurately, by the thing on the altar.

Chapter 7

Merlin always knew he had a knack for attracting trouble. He was wondering if this was going to be another such situation.

A baby lay on the altar, as bare as the day it was born, pale skinned and dark haired. Its small fists were grappling the air above its face with thin legs kicking the air too. Its face was scrunched up in despair, and as Merlin cast a glance around him as if to confirm there was no-one around playing a joke on him, the tiny baby let out a long wail, sending birds fluttering from the trees.

He rushed to calm the child. But, the touch of his hand on the baby's forehead, and the panicked "Sshh, ssshhh, ssshhh" sounds did nothing to help reduce the crying. So, thinking that he was in big trouble anyway, whether he turned away or not, Merlin gathered the baby to his chest and rocked it gently.

A boy, he noted. As the baby calmed, he focused on Merlin with a bright, blue gaze, before giving a tired yawn that revealed no teeth. Great, Merlin thought, not even six moons old yet.

The baby relaxed into Merlin's warmth. Without thinking, the warlock pulled his neckerchief free and wrapped it around the babe as best he could using one hand. Then, kneeling next to the basket of herbs, Merlin began transferring most of it into his bag. There was no other choice. He would have to take the baby with him.

Once he had cleared enough space, Merlin placed the boy into the basket. The baby remained asleep. His hands now free, Merlin then removed his brown jacket only to drape it over the basket's handle, blocking the infant from view. The last thing he needed was an audience from the people as he walked back to the castle carrying a baby of all things.

Sighing at his luck, the warlock cast a final glance at the altar. It looked the same as it had before the child's arrival. Hopefully, his mentor would be able to figure out what had happened, and find a way to get the baby back to its mother.

Merlin was certain she would be looking for him. After all, how could one not recognise their self? This baby was him.

Merlin.

Chapter 8

It was a rear occurrence for Guinevere to be annoyed at Merlin. In fact, Arthur could not remember a time before when he had ever seen his wife angry at his manservant. The two were like giggling children when they were together, throwing each other looks to mock Arthur whenever he happened to be with them.

The only few times Arthur had seen his wife show any indication of annoyance at Merlin was when he had refused to speak to Arthur for a week causing Arthur to grow moody and sulky for that time. Gwen had had enough, and had chastised them both – Arthur for ridiculing Merlin about his ears in the first place, and Merlin for being stubborn.

Now though, Arthur was watching his wife of four years pace their chambers. He had returned from a long training session, sweaty and tired, to be immediately bombarded with details of Merlin's drastic actions. And drastic they were since Merlin had never actually hired or fired anyone before. He usually gave his sovereigns recommendations on the person in question, leaving them to make them choice themselves.

As Gwen took a moment to sit at their table, placing her palms on her swollen belly to rub it gently, Arthur felt his own annoyance rise.

Merlin was justified in his decision to fire the two women. However, his claim that Lady Deidre was the reason for their lapse in their duties was preposterous. His manservant's continuous, dismissive attitude towards the noblewoman was beginning to wear Arthur thin, and Gwen too it seemed. And Arthur would not be tolerating that any longer. It was not good for Gwen in her condition. She had enough to worry about.

"What are you thinking about?"

Arthur stepped behind Gwen to begin massaging her shoulders.

"I'm thinking you need to relax, my Lady," Arthur said. "You have done quite enough preparing for Lady Deidre's stay. I'll have Merlin take care of the rest."

"That sounds lovely, Arthur. Thank you."

"No need to thank me Guinevere. I'll not have you stressing yourself in your condition. Now, I'll send for the servants to bring up a hot bath. I think we both deserve it."

Sighing, Arthur ordered two servants he found in the corridor outside his door to prepare the bath. He returned to massage his wife's shoulders with thoughts of Merlin lazing in the forest all day nagging at him.

Chapter 9

It was lucky that he had placed his jacket over the basket.

As Merlin crossed into the castle courtyard, Leon who was preparing to ride out with some knights for the evening patrol, spotted him.

Seeing the First Knight of Camelot heading his way, Merlin slowed to a halt, conscious of his hidden find in the basket.

"Leon," he said when the man reached him.

"Merlin," Leon replied. "Arthur requested you to see him as soon as you came back."

"Great," Merlin muttered under his breath, and more loudly, "Thanks Leon. Heading out for the night?"

"Yup. We'll meet up with Lady Deidre's company on the way back in the morning. See you then."

"Bye."

Merlin did not wait to watch the patrol ride out. Instead, he immediately made for Gaius' chambers.

His mentor was not inside when he arrived, and for that Merlin felt grateful suddenly. He had no idea how he was going to explain that he had literally found himself in the forest. Much less, his baby-self.

He placed the basket carefully onto the workbench and lifted his jacket away. The babe was still thankfully asleep, but having experienced Amr's birth, and having to babysit on occasion, Merlin knew it would not last. He needed to meet with Arthur as soon as he could if he wanted to return to his charge quickly.

Without waking the baby, Merlin gently lifted him out him, leaving a squashed centre in the herbs that lined the basket. Gaius would not be pleased, but there was nothing to be done about it.

Moving swiftly, the warlock placed the child onto his bed. Merlin then proceeded to remove his bag from his shoulder to dump it on the floor near his door. He paused for a moment to look around his room until his gaze landed on his chest of drawers. Pulling one of the drawers out, he placed it on the ground between his bed and the wall. An old, but soft blanket from his wardrobe was folded and then used to line the drawer.

He then moved the baby into the improvised cradle.

"Okay," Merlin whispered. "Don't wake up. Don't cry. I'll be back as soon as I can."

With that, Merlin snuck quietly away from his room, pulling the door close in his wake. He jotted down a brief note to Gaius:

Gauis, if you know what I'm taking about before I'm back, I can explain. If not, just be as quiet as you can, and I'll still explain when I get back. I forgot the honey. Sorry. Merlin

Chapter 10

When the knock sounded on the door, Arthur knew who it would be. He had seen his manservant return a while ago, loaded with his basket and shoulder bag, no doubt both filled with herbs for Gaius. He had watched as Leon met with Merlin, and then without taking his eyes off the clearly tired Merlin, continued to watch as the young man disappeared into the castle below.

"Enter," Arthur called.

Merlin's head popped around the door first. He immediately noted the drapes pulled around the bed indicating that Gwen was probably resting. Seeing Arthur seated at his desk, he approached the king to stand silently before him. He did not like the look Arthur was giving him.

"Sit."

Merlin did.

"Where were you all day, Merlin?"

Merlin bristled. Arthur knew he had gone out to find herbs for Gaius, so why was he asking?

"Picking herbs for Gaius," said Merlin. He saw Arthur give a nod.

"And this morning? Before you left to go pick herbs?"

Not liking where this conversation was going either, Merlin decided to be just as straight-to-the-point as Arthur.

"Preparing to go pick herbs."

Arthur's face twisted in annoyance. "Mer-lin," he warned.

"Fine!" Merlin hissed. "I fired two servants. I'm sure you heard. And, I'm sure Gwen told you why."

Arthur looked taken aback for a moment by Merlin's reply, but hearing his wife's name being spoken so roughly by Merlin – a servant – Arthur felt his temper rise. He stood up to tower over Merlin.

"Yes, Gwen told me what happened. And, I thank you for finding Amr when you did, but you had no right to bring Lady Diedre into it. It was disrespectful of you."

Merlin had had enough.

"Disrespectful? I was being disrespectful? Arthur, your son was halfway to the training field when I found him, while his nurse was busy dressing herself up to welcome a woman who wouldn't even take notice of her. In fact, your entire castle has gone crazy over this woman. Is she more important than your son? On that note, where the hell were the guards to Amr's rooms this morning? Huh? I'd bet you anything they snuck over to Lord Ellsworth chambers to procure the some of the potions he's been hounding Gaius for."

"That's enough!" Arthur grasped Merlin's arm and pulled him up. "Nothing is more important than Amr, but if I hear you say more thing about Lady Deidre, or any of the nobles, Merlin, you will be finding yourself in the stocks for a week. You need to learn your place among them."

Merlin gasped. Arthur was being serious!

"Now hear me. Gwen has been put under a lot of stress over these past few days, and you having fired Sera hasn't helped. She may have been lapse in her duties, but Amr liked her, and now with a new nursemaid, it's been chaos getting him to sleep this evening. You will take up the responsibility of preparing the welcome feast, and seeing to the guests' meals for the entire duration of their stay. Do you hear me? Merlin? Merlin!"

Merlin glanced at Arthur. He had almost shut down the moment Arthur had given his order. How was he going to get himself home? Well…his current baby-self who was probably awake and crying by now.

"Yes, I heard you," he found himself saying. He would just have to get Gaius to help him. A lot.

Arthur pushed him towards the door then. "Good, now go. Be sure to be here to dress me in the morning."

The door slammed behind him.

Merlin sighed. How did his life ever come to this? Arthur had been king for over five years now. Yet, he was no closer to uniting the land of Albion than he was when Merlin had first met him. True, these past years during Arthur's reign had been peaceful. There had been no magical attacks, no executions. But, Merlin knew it was only time before Morgana struck again. Then, Merlin would have to stop her again. Lie to Arthur again. And, Arthur would continue to see Merlin only as the servant he was.

It was unfair.

Chapter 11

"Care to explain now why there's a baby in your room?"

Merlin was surprised. He had not really expected Gaius to find the infant before he came back from his disaster of a meeting with the king.

"He's me," said the warlock, and warily dropped onto the bench near the table. Gaius had already dished out their evening meal. "How did you find out?"

"Well," Gaius began, "For one, I didn't expect to walk into my chambers with the sounds of a screaming child coming from your room. No, don't get up." He said when Merlin made to go check on the baby. "I rocked him for a bit, and he went straight back to sleep. Now, exactly how do you know that this baby is you?"

So, Merlin proceeded to explain in detail his encounter in the woods while wolfing down his dinner hungrily.

"Queen Ygraine's sigil you say? Hmmm, I wonder?"

"Wonder what?"

"Doves aren't only meant to symbolize love and peace. They can be messengers too. And in the Old Religion, doves are the symbol of fertility and procreation, a symbol of the Goddess Asherah."

"That doesn't explain why there's a mini-me in the next room."

"But it can help us figure it out," Gaius said. "We'll have to do some research. I'm sure we'll find something."

"Yeah," said Merlin. "About that. Arthur put me in charge of organising all the meals for our guests over the next few days. I don't think we'll be finding a way to get me home soon. Can you imagine how frantic my mother must be?"

Gauis looked quite confused for a moment clearly trying to differentiate between Merlin and the babe.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be fine," he said. "In the meanwhile, I think we should give him a name. I don't think referring to him as you all the time is going to help either of us."

Chapter 12

1 day previously…i.e. Day 2

Merlin was awake well before dawn came. He had been kept up for the better part of the night by the baby…or Ambrose as Gaius had christened him.

The first sign that Ambrose was not going to spend all night sleeping came when Merlin had just settled down for the night. He had been staring at the ceiling trying not to think about Arthur's statement that he needed to learn his place among the nobles when he heard the baby begin to whine softly.

Merlin had immediately dived for him, not wanting the crying to wake the entire castle.

Ambrose had not been interested in being fed though. The milk Gaius had brought up from the kitchens remained warm over the fire, but Ambrose had been content to alternate between grinning toothlessly at Merlin and dribbling over him. Every attempt to make him sip at the milk had been met with small hands pushing the cup away.

At first, Merlin had worried. Ambrose had had no nourishment since Merlin had found him during the day. He had immediately pounced on a drowsy Gaius to figure out what was wrong.

And something was wrong.

It turned out that Gaius' theory of Queen Ygraine's sigil being a symbol of a messenger was proving to be true.

On closely examining the child, the physician could find no pulse, no heartbeat, no breathe. Yet, he was real.

Both mentor and ward had been alarmed, but then, Gaius had suddenly remembered some tale of rituals being done long ago to contact future lives.

Ambrose…baby Merlin…was residual energy. A memory left from long ago before Merlin himself had been born. So, Ambrose was older than Merlin. And Merlin had apparently triggered its release by touching the altar.

It was confusing.

All Gaius and Merlin knew, was that they had to return the energy back to the altar. One: because the energy contained within the baby was strong enough to manifest as real magic, and two: because Merlin could hardly be seen caring for a child that technically was not alive.

Once they had figured out that, Gaius had returned to sleep while Merlin had entertained Ambrose until the baby had simply gone back to sleep too.

It did not stop him from waking Merlin up twice again during the night, and only returning to sleep after being entertained by the warlock.

Chapter 13

Arthur was in a terrible mood. Merlin was late.

He had waited for his manservant to bring him breakfast at dawn, and then help him get dressed for Lady Deidre's arrival. Instead, he and Gwen had waited an hour before another servant had rushed to deliver them their morning meal, apologizing for the wait, and claiming that Merlin had an emergency.

When Gwen inquired over the problem, the servant had informed them that one of the new cooks had burnt all the bread meant for tonight's feast overnight, and now the entire kitchen staff was in an uproar over the incident.

Gwen had immediately abandoned her breakfast to go sort out the problem, but Arthur had forced her to finish her meal, stating that Merlin would handle the situation.

Now, Arthur was wishing he had not reassigned Merlin. What was the idiot doing anyway? Baking the bread himself?

Gwen's handmaids had gotten her ready in less time it took Arthur to find his breeches for the day. By the time he had found most of his garments, Gwen had dismissed her maids and had taken it upon herself to help Arthur get dressed.

She had pulled and tugged –and for goodness sake! -his amour pinched under his arms. It still did as he stood on the front steps of the castle awaiting Lady Deidre's company.

The sounding of a horn from the outer walls indicated the company's entrance into the city. Gwen, hearing the signal, made her way down from Amr's chambers to stand with her husband. By the time she reached him, the first horse was making its way into the courtyard.

Arthur recognized Gwaine, and dipped his head to acknowledge the knight's cheeky grin.

The entourage took a couple of minutes to manoeuvre into position to welcome their main guest. It reminded Arthur of the time Princess Mithian had visited, though she had done so with her own knights riding under her colours. However, the amount of people waiting to see the new visitor now far outnumbered those then.

People from the lower town were gathered at the gates to the courtyard, guards blocking their entrance. Nobles and servants alike were lined up within the courtyard itself, eager for a glimpse of the newcomer.

When the last rider halted, Arthur spoke.

"Camelot welcomes Lady Deidre of Carlisle Estate, and all with her."

There was a smattering of applause. Then, the woman seated on a gray mare, lifted her veil.

The applause grew.

Chapter 14

Arthur could not help but stare at the slender woman dismounting in front of him. He watched as Leon helped her down and then presented her before his King and Queen.

"King Arthur. Queen Guinevere," Lady Deidre curtsied to them both. "I thank you for your kind reception, and for welcoming me into your home."

She spoke softly, and kept her eyes cast down.

It did nothing to hide her widely-talked-about beauty. Her skin was flawless, her hair flowed in red waves down her back, and her stature cried of daintiness. Murmurs from the crowd indicated that they too were shocked by her loveliness, and a brief sweep of hazel eyes showed that the Lady knew they were murmuring about her. A rosy blush graced her cheeks.

Arthur wondered how many times Gwaine must have taken delight in making the Lady blush. A sharp elbow from his wife made him realize he was staring, and he hastily cleared his throat as Gwen regally descended the steps to grasp Lady Deidre's hand.

"We are delighted to have you here, my dear," said the Queen. "You must be tired from your journey. Let me show you to your room."

The two swept past everyone, leaving the crowd to disperse. Servants rushed to move luggage and horses. Knights, weary from their trip gave instructions to their squires, and the nobles formed gossiping groups, no doubt whispering about the red-haired woman.

"Sire," said Leon. "Any orders?"

"Leon," Arthur replied. "Just make sure the knights from the Lady's company get some rest. I want them out on regular patrol in two days."

"Sire," Leon bowed. He left Arthur to relay the news to the respective knights, and Arthur could clearly see relief in their bodies. A quick wave from Gwaine indicated the knight's jubilance at the news. Obviously, he would be in the tavern tonight.

Chapter 15

Merlin wanted to scream.

On entering the kitchens to collect Arthur and Gwen's breakfast, he had been met with the smell of the charred remains of bread. The shouts from the cooks blaming each other were not helping and sensing disaster if the row continued, he had immediately put a stop to the commotion and had begun delegating tasks for everyone. It was what Arthur had assigned him to do, was it not?

Unfortunately, by the time he had gotten everyone sorted, he only then remembered he had not delivered breakfast to the royal couple, and had rushed to send a tray up for them. It had to be taken up by another servant though, since Merlin was coerced into peeling a sack of potatoes, and was then rushing off into the Lower Town to purchase more eggs. That meant that Arthur would have to dress himself, a fact that bothered Merlin little after their brief argument last night.

He regretted coming to get the eggs though. He had to push his way through the crowd of jostling people that had gathered to watch the Lady Deidre's company ride in. Not wanting to waste time, he had not stopped to watch them as they rode past the stalls in the market. But, he should have because when he arrived at the egg vendor's stall, it was only to find the man gone, as were most of the vendors in the market.

What hold did that woman have over Camelot that people would leave their precious goods unattended?

By the time the vendors returned, the sun was already nearing midday. Merlin hustled to drop off the eggs at the kitchen before dashing off to check on Gaius and Ambrose. The cries he heard coming from down the corridor as he neared the physician's chambers indicated all was not well.

Gaius was holding Ambrose when he crashed through the doorway. The man's hair was frizzled, and he looked ready to tap Merlin on the head for putting him through this.

"Sorry, sorry," said Merlin as he rushed to relief Gaius of the screaming baby. A quick wave of a circle around his head made him relax a bit. He had placed a Silencing charm around Ambrose. Anyone who was outside the chambers would not be able to hear him.

Gaius visible deflated when the noise lessened. Merlin continued to rock and coo at the baby who was calming down.

"What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I got caught up in the kitchens."

"Well, you're here now. You can take him back now."

"What?" said Merlin. "Do you know who's here, Gaius? Lady Deidre? The one who I have to deliver lunch to in less than an hour, and oh yeah! The one who everyone's been obsessing about?"

"Can't you get someone else to serve her lunch, Merlin. I don't think it's wise to have Ambrose here for too long. Who knows what can of disturbances it can stir up?"

"I can't. Even if I did leave now, I'll never make it back in time to finish prepare for the feast, and Arthur will kill me if I'm not there."

"I know," Gaius sighed heavily. "I guess we can wait."

"I'll ask Arthur if I can take the day off tomorrow. Did you find the spell?"

"Yes, it's no different from other energy dissipating spells. Except you have to make sure both you and Ambrose are touching the late Queen's sigil when you say the spell. It will act as a link between the energy and the time from whence it came."

"Gaius?"

"Hmmm?"

"Who do you think did the ritual to call forth Ambrose…well me…in the first place? I mean why would they do that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Gaius asked with a raised eyebrow. He huffed at Merlin when his ward stared at him blankly. "They wanted to contact Emrys of course. I suspect it was done when the Purge first began. The druids would have known about the prophesy of the Once and Future King long before it started, but perhaps the Priestesses of the Old Religion wanted confirmation of your coming when Uther began seeking them out."

"Is that why I came as a baby?"

"Perhaps," said Gaius. "Your full manifestation would have probably been too powerful for them to contain. As a child, the energy within you would have been much more manageable. Thus, they would have called on only a small part of you."

Merlin was silent for a moment. "Why did Ambrose appear now then? Was it because I touched the altar?"

"I think so," Gaius admitted. "From what I came across in the books, whoever was called, a small part of their energy always remained contained within the altar. The only way it could be released was if the person, in life, made physical contact with the altar. They could then choose to return the energy, give it to another, or absorb it themselves."

"But," Merlin spluttered. "Does that mean, when I return Ambrose – me- the energy…you know what I mean…does that mean it doesn't actually dissipate? That, I could end up absorbing the energy? That's creepy!"

"Yes," said Gaius simply.

"Gaius!"

"What? It's energy, Merlin. It can neither be created, nor destroyed. It can simply be transformed into one form or another."

Merlin ran a hand over his face. I should have never gone near the stupid altar in the first place.

"If I don't return Ambrose, what happens?"

"He'll simple continue be as he is. Although, in time, I think he will fade…the energy will find some way to move on. Perhaps seep into the surroundings. You can understand the effects that may have, since even as a child, he contains a significant amount of energy. Not to mention, it will be cruel to leave him like that. He is you, Merlin. In his form, he may not need nourishment to survive, but he is still aware. He can still feel."

Merlin understood. But, even as he did, another thought hit him.

"What happens if someone else absorbs the energy?"

Gaius hummed. "I fear to think about what may happen, Merlin. They would essentially be gaining your magic. Imagine what damage it could cause in the wrong hands."

"Does that mean no one can touch him?" Merlin asked, alarmed.

"I don't think we need to fear," Gaius said. "I've held him. In any case, you still need to say the spell if you were to give the energy to another."

"Oh, yeah," Merlin looked down at the child in his arms who had finally calmed during the conversation. He found it difficult to imagine that Ambrose was not an actual living, breathing human, much less imagine that he was Merlin however small he may be. Ah well, stranger things have happened to me. A toothless smile from the baby now that he had Merlin's attention made the warlock smile weakly back. On second thoughts, maybe not. Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about changing any nappies.

Gaius had returned to mixing potions, and Merlin was now jiggling Ambrose on his lap, making the baby giggle and dribble. The two men did not notice the door to their chambers open with a creak.

Chapter 16

Despite the fact that trouble seemed to be attracted to him, Merlin did not actually think his current situation could get any worse. However, a quiet gasp from behind him had him looking up sharply, and then turning immediately to his mentor, asking for silent help.

Gaius, having dropped a vial of a smoking, purple potion on the entry of the newcomer was in the motion of hurriedly wiping away the spilled liquid. His action had him responding to Merlin's plea a few seconds too late as the blonde-haired prince of Camelot dashed forward.

"Did you bring me baby, Uncle Merwin?!"

Merlin could only look on helplessly as Amr rose on tip toes, pulling at Merlin's wrist to see the infant cradled in his arms.

"Amr," Gaius chided. "What are you doing here? Did you sneak away again?"

The young prince barely spared the physician a glance as he continued to drag Merlin downwards. Taking pity on Amr, Merlin relented and pulled the boy up to sit next to him on the bench. When the prince settled down, his feet swinging away, Merlin lowered his arm holding Ambrose.

As Amr leaned in to get a closer look, Merlin repeated Gaius' question.

"I wanted to see you, Uncle Merwin. You missed bedtime yestwerday."

"I know, Amr. Sorry, but I was busy."

"Is he your son, Uncle Merwin? The baby? Cuz he looks like you. Evwey one says I look like Father, and I am Father's son, so he must be yours, wight Uncle Merwin?"

Merlin was gobsmacked. He was not expecting Amr to say something like that, least of all spot a resemblance between Ambrose and himself so quickly. If a toddler could make that link, what then would the adults see? What if they really think it's my son?! Merlin had to keep Ambrose's presence in the castle a secret until he took him back, and quickly!

He looked at Gaius again for help, but the man only seemed amused and looked as if to say 'handle it yourself.'

"Amr," said Merlin seriously. The prince paused in entertaining Ambrose with funny faces. "The baby, Ambrose, he's not my son, and he won't be staying long. You see, I'm just taking care of him for a little while, like I do with you sometimes."

"Oh," Amr murmured and then brightened. "Can I help you take care of him, Uncle Merwin?"

Merlin smiled at the innocent request.

"Sure you can. This is what I need you to do, ok? It's very important." Merlin waited for the prince to look at him again instead of the giggling baby. "You can't tell anyone Ambrose is here, ok? Not even your father or mother. You have to promise me you won't tell."

Amr looked confused for a moment, but he nodded to show that he agreed.

"Good. Now Ambrose needs to sleep. We'll let Gaius take him now. Say goodbye."

Merlin watched as Amr gently grasped one of the baby's hand in his own and whisper in his ears. Whatever it was, it caused Ambrose to flail his little hands, and wiggle in Merlin's arms. Or it might have been because of Amr's nose tickling his ears.

Once Gaius took Ambrose, Merlin scooped Amr up and headed out to find the new nursemaid. He only hoped it would not be a repeat of yesterday's incident. The last thing he needed was Arthur piling on more chores on him because somehow, the king seemed bent on misunderstanding Merlin's reasons for firing his staff.

Amr informed him on the way to find Naths that he had not in fact been with the maid, but had been having his morning lessons with Geoffrey in the library. Amr had left while the old man had been distracted, searching among his shelves for a book.

Merlin was interrupted in chastising the sniggering prince by Naths who heaved a huge sigh of relief when she saw the prince. A quick explanation from her indicated that she had found the prince missing when she came to collect him for lunch. Geoffrey had not even noticed the boy had abandoned his studies.

The mention of lunch had Merlin turning Amr over to Naths with a final warning to the prince not to run off again. He would have to inform Gwen of her son's habit. In the meanwhile, he had to personally serve lunch to the Lady Deidre and her chambermaids.

Chapter 17

On entering the guest chambers that had been given to Camelot's latest arrival, Merlin did not know what to expect. He had been busy since the morn, and now he was a bit late in delivering lunch to the Lady Deidre. He was grateful though that it was only three plates that needed to be served. If there had been knights from her father's estate to cater for as well, Merlin would have had to enlist some help.

As it was, he had one other servant helping him bring the food up from the kitchens now. The rest were busy preparing for the feast tonight.

"My lady," said Merlin. He bobbed his head slightly and continued. "My apologies for the delay in bringing you the midday's meal. Please do sit and allow me to serve you."

As the woman murmured her accent, and made herself comfortable at the table with her maids, Merlin took his time observing her. He thought she looked a bit like Mithian: small and slim, save for the very red hair. Overall, he thought the rumors of her beauty were exaggerated. With lunch served, Merlin sent the other servant back down to the kitchens, and he lined himself up near the wall while the meal was had.

He noted the silence maintained during the meal. The three women barely uttered a word in his presence except to thank him at the end of it for his service. Merlin wondered if it was because of his presence in the room, or if it was normally how they ate. Once it was over, he quickly collected the empty trays and left.

He had no idea why everyone was making such a fuss over the woman. She seemed quite normal to him.

Chapter 18

After a few harried hours of final preparations in the kitchens and in the dining hall, Merlin deemed everything to be ready for the feast, and he had to admit, he felt quite proud he had managed to get the job done with a few minutes to spare before he had to go dress Arthur.

His biggest concern now was Ambrose. No way could the baby be left alone while he and Gaius were at the feast. And they could hardly watch over him one at a time: for one thing, Merlin would be required to serve Arthur for the duration of the feast, and for another, Gaius, as a trusted member of the court, would be expected to attend the evening's gathering to meet and greet the new guest.

Heaving out a long sigh, Merlin a decision. He would have to ask Arthur for the evening off. Grimacing, for he knew that the request was not going to go down well with Arthur, especially when the King heard his manservant asking for tomorrow off too, Merlin took a deep breath before entering the King's chambers.

"Ah, Merlin," said Arthur. "Well, come one. Get me dressed."

It took Merlin a good half hour to get Arthur into his clothes. During that time, his mind was buzzing trying to figure out how to state his request. There was nothing else to do, but go for it.

"Arthur?"

"Humm?" Arthur was looping his belt about his waist.

"MayIHaveTheEveningOffAndTomorrowAs Well?"

Arthur glanced up to stare at Merlin. Despite the speed at which the young man had mumbled his words, Arthur had understood him perfectly. It was years of being around each other he supposed.

"I'm sorry, Merlin. But it did you just ask for the evening off? And tomorrow too? Why?"

"Gaius has a new patient…very sickly…yeah…he ummm…he wants me to tend to him during the feast."

"And tomorrow? Is Gaius too busy to tend to his sickly patient then as well?" asked Arthur.

"Oh," Merlin mumbled. "Yeah. Yeah, you know. It's Thursday. He always collects pots on a Thursday." Merlin mentally slapped himself. Seriously? It was the first thing that popped into his mind. He saw Arthur scrutinizing him.

"You may have the evening off, Merlin," said Arthur. Merlin felt relieved. "You will not, however, be taking tomorrow off as well. Don't think I've forgotten that I have requested you to serve the Lady Deidre all her meals for the duration of her stay. You may help Gaius after you have served her."

Merlin sagged in relief. He could get away with that. He just needed to find a servant willing to replace him for tomorrow, and hope Arthur did not hear of it.

Chapter 19

Arthur knew Merlin was lying. He just knew it. About what though, he could not be sure. Merlin had never asked for time off during a feast before. The silly servant loved them despite his constant moaning about having to serve Arthur at most of them. And Gaius…he would never leave a patient to partake in a feast if the person was sickly.

But Arthur decided to let Merlin be. He had noticed the effort made by Merlin to save the kitchen staff from their disastrous start to the day. Now, as he sat in his chair at the head of the table, with a marvelous feast spread before him to welcome the Lady Deidre to court, Arthur thought Merlin had done a good job. Everything was perfect. Well, except for Merlin's notable absence.

Arthur scowled slightly. He had not forgotten Merlin's opinion of Lady Deidre. It was mostly why he gave his servant the evening off. He would not be having Merlin serving him while treating the Lady with attitude and indifference. Camelot owed her father a great deal after all. He did not want to offend her in public. Come tomorrow though, Merlin would have to resume his duty whether he wanted to or not. It was his job after all.

Turning to his guest, the King asked, "How is the food, my Lady? I hope everything is to your liking?"

"Yes, my Lord. A definite improvement from earlier."

"What do you mean?" Guinevere asked, leaning forward in her seat to peer at the red-head.

Suddenly flustered, Deidre daintily put her fork down. "I do not wish to complain, Your Majesty, but our midday meal was served quite late. It is why I seem to have little appetite for this wonderful spread. I'm sure your staff outdid themselves in preparing it, but I am still full from lunch that I fear I can not enjoy their efforts."

Arthur gritted his teeth. Merlin.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"Oh! I think it was one of the servants, Sire. When one of my maids went down to the kitchens to first inquire of the meals, she was told that someone was already assigned to bring it up. So, we waited…for a couple of hours at least."

Gwen had to place a calming hand on her husband. "Lady Deidre, were you given an explanation for why the meal was late?"

"No, my Queen. And I did not ask for one. There's one of them now," Lady Deidre pointed to a mousey-haired youngster in the corner.

Catching sight of the royal couple watching him, the servant did a double take before coming over to stand before the King and Queen when they beckoned him forward.

"Boy," said Arthur. "Was the Lady Deidre's midday meal served late today?"

The servant looked like he was about to faint for a moment, his fright at the suddenly angry King obvious.

"Yes, Sire," the boy sputtered out. "But, it wasn't my fault! I swear. The kitchen had everything prepared on time. Merlin told us he was to deliver the meals, Sire."

Arthur's face was twisted with rage at the quivering servant's words. He rose from his seat, excused himself from the head table. He swept out of the dining hall through one of the side doors. Gwen could only look on worriedly as her husband disappeared and she was left to keep the guests company.

Chapter 20

Arthur stalked down the castle's steps and prowled along the corridors to the physician's chambers. The fact that Merlin had managed to upset Lady Deidre within hours of her arrival had the King furious. Servants scurrying to and fro trying to complete their daily duties darted out of his way.

He pushed the physician's door open with a bang.

Merlin was startled into dropping the pestle in his hands onto the ground. Arthur was standing in the doorway, looking at him murderously.

"Merlin," Arthur growled. "Was the Lady Deidre's midday meal delivered late to her?"

Merlin continued to stare at Arthur in slight confusion.

"Merlin!"

"Yes," said Merlin, slowly. "Arthur, what -?"

"That's it!" Arthur roared. "I've had it with you, Merlin. You've been rude about her presence in Camelot even before she arrived. And now, the first thing you do when she's here is to have her meal delivered late! The one thing I demanded of Merlin, and you screw it up! But no more. I'm putting a stop to this before you offend Lady Deidre any further. You are to spend the day in the stocks tomorrow! And you are dismissed from your duties until she leaves, with all pay suspended."

Merlin could only stand in disbelief as Arthur ranted. His mind was slowly processing the fact that somehow Arthur had direly misunderstood the situation. Merlin did not think a quarter of an hour would have made a huge difference in delivering the meal, but apparently it had. And now Arthur was raving mad.

A soft wail cut through the brief silence after the King's announcement.

Merlin wanted to scream as well. But, his voice seemed to have disappeared.

"What is that?"

Merlin blinked at Arthur.

Glaring at his servant, Arthur strode up to Merlin's room and pushed the door open to reveal the source of the noise.

"What the hell is that? Merlin?!"

At the baby's increased wailing with all the yelling taking place, Merlin broke out of his stupor and rushed to scoop Ambrose up. He paced in front of Arthur trying to calm the baby down.

"Is this why you couldn't attend to me at the feast, Merlin?" Arthur questioned. He had lowered his voice, but still seemed angry. "You're babysitting?"

When Merlin nodded, Arthur growled again.

"So you lied to me about this too. There is no sick patient. There was nothing keeping you from serving at the feast tonight."

Merlin had had enough.

Chapter 21

"Nothing, Arthur?" Merlin quietly hissed. "You call this nothing." He held out Ambrose to the King slightly. "The child couldn't be left alone."

"So you could have given it to one of the maids! Why did you have to do it? Why did you lie about it?"

Merlin could feel a headache coming on. He knew arguing with Arthur while the King was in an angry state would not help one bit so he reverted to being quiet once again. His own anger was starting to simmer under his calm facade as Arthur's earlier words came back to him.

Arthur meanwhile was not finished.

"Fine," said Arthur. "You won't answer. It doesn't matter. My decision still stands. You will spend tomorrow in the stocks, Merlin. Be grateful I didn't have you flogged for lying to me about this either." He had pointed at Ambrose, then gave Merlin a final glare, and left the room.

Merlin listened for his exit from the outer chambers before sinking onto his bed. He gently laid Ambrose down. The baby was still sniffling and tear tracks marked his chubby cheeks. Watching the babe, Merlin felt his anger rise.

He had not asked for this to happen, nor had not meant to be late delivering Lady Deidre's meal. When Amr had snuck into his and Gaius' chambers earlier, his duty to see the young prince back safely with his nursemaid had made him arrive late at the kitchens to pick up the food. He could not very well abandon the prince to serve some entitled noblewoman. Amr came first.

Arthur had not even bothered to hear him out when he first tried to explain. The King was blind in his rage. Well, Merlin decided, I'm not going to waste a day in the stocks. I certainly have better things to do.

With thoughts racing through his mind, Merlin lay down beside Ambrose, curled about the little body, waiting for his mentor to return.

Chapter 22

When Arthur returned to the dining hall, the dancing had already commenced. Lady Deidre was off to one side of the hall surrounded by ardent admirers who had finally gotten their chance to meet her since her arrival. It was not long before Lord Ellsworth managed to persuade her into dancing with him. By the time Arthur crossed the room and sat down next to Gwen, another nobleman had replaced Ellsworth, and many more stood along the walls awaiting their turn to dance with the woman.

Arthur remained silent as he finished his now cold dinner. He could feel his wife's eyes on him, and he wondered if she knew where he had been. He thought of his decision to send Merlin to the stocks for his tardiness, and had to brace himself against the guilt that flooded him.

It had been years since he had Merlin punished for anything, and even longer still since he had exploded in anger like that. The last time he could recall ever shouting at Merlin like that was when Valiant had been to court. Merlin had looked at Arthur with defiance in his eyes then, and just now, he had done the same. But, then he had been right to accuse Valiant of cheating and using enchantments. Now, he had no excuse. Lady Deidre did not deserve his doubts about her.

Feeling his ire at Merlin return, Arthur scanned the hall for Gaius. No doubt the old man knew about the baby, but did he know that Merlin had lied about the child's presence to Arthur? And why was it that a nursemaid could not have seen to the child while Merlin attended to his duties as Arthur's servant at the feast? Deciding that Merlin was obviously trying to avoid the Lady Deidre for whatever reasons Arthur could only imagine, the King felt justified in the punishment he had dealt his servant.

In a couple of weeks, Lady Deidre would return to her estate, and Arthur would lift Merlin's suspension. In the meanwhile, the boy would use the time to reflect on his behavior towards the guest, or so Arthur hoped.

Spotting Gaius leaving through the main doors, Arthur pulled Gwen up to join the dancers on the floor. He was going to enjoy the rest of the evening.

Chapter 23

When Gaius entered his chambers, it was to find a harassed looking Merlin pacing from one wall to the next. His ward kept running a hand through his hair, and he barely acknowledged Gaius' entrance.

"What did Arthur do?" Gaius asked. He lowered himself onto a bench. Merlin stopped pacing and dropped into the seat next to him.

"How did you know Arthur was here?"

"Only you Merlin, could get Arthur so angry that he would abandon his dinner in a huff."

When Merlin stared unblinkingly at his mentor as if to say 'Really?' Gaius snorted. "I happened to overhear a brief conversation among the servants. It seems that Arthur was told that you delivered the Lady Deidre's midday meal late. It wasn't hard to figure out where he came when he left the table during the feast."

Merlin groaned. He wondered which idiot had got him into trouble.

"Arthur suspended me, Gaius. Without pay. Until the Lady Deidre leaves Camelot."

Gaius gasped.

"And I'm to spend the day in the stocks tomorrow."

If the situation was not serious, Merlin would have laughed at the outrage on Gaius' face. As it were, he watched Gaius paled as he added, "And he knows about Ambrose."

"What?!"

"Well, what could I have done? He came in here shouting, the prat! He woke Ambrose up, and wanted to know why we couldn't find a nursemaid for him. Don't worry though. He probably thinks the baby is really just a patient, but he basically said I lied to him to get out of serving at the feast tonight."

Merlin suddenly looked at Gaius with an angry spark in his eyes.

"I've had it, Gaius. This is one step too far he's taken."

"What do you mean?" Gaius asked, alarmed.

"I'm resigning as Arthur's servant."

Chapter 24

Gaius' eyes were bulging out of his head. He wondered if he had just heard Merlin say that he was resigning as Arthur's servant.

"Don't look at me like that, Gaius. I have a right to, and this seems the best thing to do in the situation. It's not like I'll be leaving Camelot. I'll take up training as a physician full time. That is, if Arthur doesn't throw a tantrum when he hears. "

Gaius had to wonder just who Merlin was trying to convince it was a good idea and asked his ward as much.

"It's not just because of what just happened, Gaius," said Merlin. "I've been putting up with Arthur's idiotic manner for weeks on end now….years if you really want to know. He's always finding something to fault me with. I've been doing more than what's expected of me - hell! – even more than what's expected of ten servants put together. I manage everything for him, but he still finds something to complain about. And, I was not late with Lady Deidre's meal! At least, not two hours as Arthur was told. Oh! And let's not forget the countless times I've saved the prat's life over the past years."

"Merlin," said Gaius. "Maybe Arthur has just been stressed -"

Merlin was shaking his head. "No. No, I've seen him stressed plenty of times before. He's turning into High King Prat now, and…" Merlin added sadly, "…and it's not just him. Gwen has been treating me like I'm a stranger."

Gaius did not know how to respond to that. He felt sorry that his ward was being taken for granted. He knew if Arthur really learnt of Merlin's true worth that the King would not be so quick to dismiss Merlin. However, he also knew that Merlin was at his breaking point. No one could standby silently for years and be constantly degraded by someone they considered to be a friend. And in Merlin's case, Gaius knew too that that someone was more than a friend to Merlin…he was his brother in all but blood.

"I may not fully agree with your reasoning, Merlin," said Gaius. "But, you do what you have to do."

"Thank you."

"Now, I assume you have decided what to do about Ambrose?" Gaius asked. He moved to his fireplace to brew some tea. Merlin watched him as he poured the steaming water into two cups.

"Yeah, I'll take him back tomorrow. Then I think I'll visit Mother. Arthur will have a hissy fit when he finds out I'm not in the stocks."

"Hmmm, well you had better start packing then if you plan on being gone for two weeks," said Gaius.

The two sipped their tea in silence.

Chapter 25

Day 3…i.e. Present Day

Arthur woke to the sight of sunlight pouring through his open windows. By his estimate, it was way past his usual time of awakening, and most likely he only had minutes to spare before the first meeting of the day was scheduled.

Lifting the sheets away from his body, he scrambled to the clean basin of water waiting for him next to the changing screen. He vaguely registered the timid servant standing nearby with a change of clothing draped over the man's arms. Guinevere, he noted, was already gone. No doubt she had left long ago to rouse their son from his own slumber and prepare to send him off to Geoffrey for the day's lessons.

His stomach grumbled as he let the servant dress him. A scrumptious breakfast was laid out on his table, but starting to become wary of the time, he decided to meet with Sir Leon and then return to eat before the long and boring council meeting began in an hour.

As he left his chambers, Arthur felt a brief pang of guilt return at his decision to send Merlin to the stocks. The boy might have been disrespectful to the Lady Deidre, but he certainly knew how to get Arthur out of bed in time.

Reports of bandits targeting people in the western villages of Camelot pushed Merlin out of Arthur's mind. He spent a quarter of an hour giving orders to Sir Leon to organize patrols in the affected areas. Knowing that the knight would do a fine job of protecting the people, Arthur returned to his chambers for his breakfast.

He was surprised to see his wife seated at the table, munching on some fruit.

"Gwen," he said. "Is everything alright?"

"Fine," Gwen replied. "I just needed to rest my feet for a moment."

Arthur planted a kiss onto his wife's forehead and dropped into his own seat. He was starting to feel excited about the impending birth of their second child. Amr had told them that he wanted a brother. Arthur himself was hoping for another boy, but remained silent on the matter. One, because Gwen was hoping it was a girl, and two, because he secretly feared, in some deep, dark place of his mind, that any female born to the Pendragon line would have magic.

A rolled up piece of scroll next to his platter caught his attention. Chewing on some meat, he picked the scroll up and noted that it was sealed, but unmarked.

"I wonder who this is from?" he asked aloud. Gwen looked over at him.

"What is it?"

"A missive of some sort," said Arthur, turning it about in his hands. "Merlin usually leaves all the correspondence on my desk." Then he remembered that Merlin had not really been active in his duties towards Arthur for the past couple of days, so it was probably placed there by the servant who had brought up the morning's meal. It did not explain who had sent it though.

Breaking the thin circle of wax, Arthur unfolded the scroll.

He recognized the neat scribbles immediately, and had a brief moment to wonder why Merlin would write him a note before his heart began to pound in his chest.

His mouth grew dry as he read through the message. He reached for the goblet of wine on the table. His hands shook as he re-read the words, trying to process if they were serious or not.

Gwen, seeing him gulp the wine down and knowing that he usually chose to have water with his breakfast, was alarmed.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Arthur was staring intently at the piece of paper. Ignoring Gwen, he stood so abruptly that his chair fell backwards with a crash and startled his wife.

"Arthur!"

With Gwen's yells behind him, Arthur rushed out the door. In his mind, he was raging with anger that his servant had the audacity to oppose him seemingly without a thought, but in his heart…in his heart he was panicking.

As he neared the physician's chambers, Arthur slowed down. He took a deep breath.

"MERLIN!"

No reply.

"MERRR…LINNN!"

Growing with impatience and anger, he pushed the worn, wooden door open with a BANG!

Chapter 26

When all Arthur found was Gaius and no Merlin, he wanted to yell and screech, and demand a thousand answers. However, Gaius calmly confirmed the note clutched in the King's hand had been sent by Merlin, and then proceeded to say matter-of-factly to Arthur that his servant had left Camelot.

The truth in the old man's tone almost sent Arthur reeling back, and his heart began to race again. He asked why, and received a reply that most certainly meant that he, Arthur had somehow crossed a line. Arthur knew he had. But his pride kept him from admitting it, and instead of pestering Gaius to find out where Merlin had gone – Arthur though Ealdor was the best bet – he marched backed to his chambers with the piece of paper balled up in his fists.

Gwen looked ready to pounce on him for her own answers, but held back when he handed her the note and moved to stare moodily out at the courtyard below.

When her shocked gasp of disbelief reached his ears, Arthur turned to face her. She had placed a hand over her mouth and was staring wide-eyed at the note.

"I'm accepting it," Arthur stated dully.

"What?! Arthur, you can't. Merlin would never do something like this without a reason. At least wait until he returns to find out why. It says here that he wants to take up the position as an apprentice to the physician full time."

"It does say that, doesn't it? He can. But, he won't be allowed."

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked. She was worried about Arthur's quiet tone.

"It's either he be my manservant or nothing, Gwen!" Arthur finally shouted. "I won't have that idiot turned loose in Camelot."

"You don't mean that," said Gwen. She came over to stand before her husband and stare him in his eyes. "What happened last night, Arthur? When you left the feast – did you go to find Merlin?"

"Yes," he replied. He decided to tell Gwen what he had done. She was bound to find out from Gaius anyway, so he may as well tell her his side of the story. "I suspended him without pay for two weeks for bringing Lady Deidre her meal late. And I ordered him to spend today in the stocks."

For a moment, Arthur felt like crying. He watched Gwen nod as if to say she understood why he had done it.

"What are you going to do?" she asked quietly. And just like that, all Arthur's frustration and anger drained out of him, leaving him feeling shaken and sad.

"I don't know. I still can't believe he left." The unspoken 'without saying goodbye' hung between the royal couple. "Something's not right here."

Chapter 27

Prince Amr was not a baby. No matter how much his mother, his father and his Uncle Merwin cuddled him. Yes, he still needed help at meal times, and at bath times, and when getting dressed. But, he understood a lot more than all of them thought he could, and he certainly knew when he was doing something naughty.

Therefore, when he had entered the enormous library this morning to see his parents' newest guest seated at a table and surrounded by books, he knew she was being naughty.

It was because of the way she had stared at him when he had wobbled in holding onto Naths hand. It was because of how she had ignored him as Geoffrey placed a quill in his small hands and had told him to begin printing his letters. It was because of how she had grilled him for information on Uncle Merwin's baby.

There had been a pause early in his lessons while Geoffrey attended to the Lady's request for yet another book. While he had searched among his back shelves for the item, Amr had taken the opportunity to slip into the chair opposite the red-haired woman, and had planted his chin onto the table.

"What are you reading?" he had asked.

"Nothing, Your Highness," she had replied, and had quickly tried to close the open books around her. But Amr had seen some of the pages already and he had become excited by the pictures.

"Are you having a baby?" he had said gleefully. "My mother is having a baby. She read books like these everwyday. And Uncle Merwin has a baby wight now too! I got to play with him yestwerday!"

Lady Deidre had instantly perked up and had begun to question him about Ambrose. He had told her that Uncle Merwin was taking care of the baby for a little bit. But then, he had remembered he had promised not to tell anyone about Uncle Merwin's baby, and had immediately gone silent as she continued to ask him about the baby until Geoffrey had returned empty handed.

Amr had then spent the rest of his lessons quietly following the old librarian's instructions. By the time the midday meal had been due, the Lady Deidre had been long gone, and Amr had quite forgotten about her…until his nursemaid took him to his mother after he had eaten.

Now, as he entered his parents' chambers, he rushed to climb onto the bed where his mother lay. Naths gave him a hand up and then left mother and son alone. Gwen gathered her son close, and listened to him complain about the morning's lessons. She smiled weakly at his prattle, thinking that if Merlin were here, he would have told Amr he had to study least he became empty-headed like his father. The warning would always send Amr giggling and Arthur frowning at Merlin. Her smile turned into a frown as she wondered what Amr would do when he found out Merlin had left.

Amr, seeing his mother's expression, demanded why she looked so sad.

"Amr," Gwen began. "I have to tell you something." Her son looked at her with wide eyes. "Merlin had to leave suddenly. He's gone to visit his mother in Ealdor."

"Oh, I know."

"You know?" she asked, slowly.

"Yes. Uncle Merwin came to tell me goodbye this morning before he left. He said he'll be back before I know it, and that I shouldn't runned away from Geoffrey while he was gone. He said to be a good boy or else he wouldn't bring back any of Aunty Hunith's honey cakes for me, and to take cware of you, and the baby, and Father."

Gwen was a bit confused by her son's brief speech, but she was more interested in the fact that Merlin had actually told her son that he was leaving. Not that she was surprised. Merlin, she knew, had always done what was best for Amr, and had even gone so far as to challenge both hers and Arthur's parental decision at times. She realized he definitely would have said a personal goodbye to Amr if he was leaving Camelot.

"He's taking Ambrose back to his home."

The added statement did not immediately register with the Queen, but when it did, she asked, "Who's Ambrose?"

"He's Uncle Merwin's baby. He's was taking cware of him, like how he takes cware of me sometimes when you and Father are busy. He said he has to take him back now."

By the time Amr was finished disclosing Merlin's secret for the second time that day, Gwen had her eyebrows raised. She had not heard mention of any child in the castle, least of all a baby under Merlin's care. She wondered if her husband knew, because he had been to Gaius' to see Merlin the night before. Arthur still had not fully told her everything that had occurred. She knew that. And she did not understand what he had meant when he had muttered that 'Something's not right here' before leaving for the council meeting earlier.

"How did you know about Ambrose, Amr? Did Merlin tell you about him too?"

"Oh," said the prince. "It was when I runned away from Geoffrey yesterday, Mother. I went to see Uncle Merwin, and he had Ambrose. He let me play with him, and told me not to tell anyone about Ambrose. And then we had to find Naths when the baby went to sleep."

"When was this, Amr? You sneaked out of Geoffrey's lessons? What did we say about you wondering the castle alone?"

Amr bowed his little head, but then snapped up to defend himself.

"But, Mother!" He whined. "I was bored. Uncle Merwin always finds me and takes me back. So, don't worry…he always takes cware of me."

Gwen was a bit surprised by her son's defence…of both himself and Merlin. Then the thought struck her that Amr had not answered a question.

"Amr," she said. "When exactly did this happen? Was it at midday?"

"Yes, Mother."

And suddenly Gwen knew both she and Arthur had made a horrible mistake.

Merlin had been late to deliver Lady Deidre's meal…but only because he had been returning Amr to Naths at the time. Gwen knew he would not have been late otherwise. Had Arthur known this before he had set Merlin's punishment?

Gwen knew without a doubt now that Merlin would not have taken two hours to deliver the meal. If he had been unable to do it, he would have sent someone else entirely. And Matthew, the servant whom Arthur had questioned last night at the feast, had only stated that the meal had been delivered late…just not exactly how late was late.

Why had Lady Deidre lied?

She had to inform Arthur. But first she would go down to the kitchens to find Matthew, and then go speak to Lady Deidre herself.

Chapter 28

Merlin was smiling.

Albeit it was small, but still, he was smiling. He had left the city walls about an hour ago after saying his goodbyes to Amr and then Gaius. The knights he could not find, specifically Gwaine. Merlin had no doubt that the man would throw a fit when he found out that Merlin would be gone for a fortnight, but the warlock had no intention of wasting precious time searching for his friend. He had wanted to leave as soon as possible…if only to ensure he was out of Arthur's shouting range when the King got his message.

He knew it was a bit cowardly, but he could not face Arthur after the outrageous accusations and punishments were thrown at him. He did not know whose anger would do more harm…Arthur's or his own.

The smile had started a few seconds ago when he remembered he could have been in the stocks at this very moment if he had not taken the decision to leave. It gave him a feeling of relief, and he felt just a bit rebellious. And, he was looking forward to spending some time with his mother…after he attended to the small problem in his hands that is.

Ambrose, picking up on Merlin's change in mood, started babbling nonsense. He had remained surprisingly quiet in his covered basket as Merlin had left the city.

With the Castle Balch ruins in sight, Merlin heaved a sigh of relief. He was not out of the woods yet, but soon Ambrose would be back where he belonged and Merlin would be free for two whole weeks.

He placed the basket with the baby on the ground, tossed his pack and bedroll next to it, and turned to examine the altar. It looked much the same as he had left it – quite out-of-place in the middle of the forest.

Moving to get Ambrose, Merlin held him at eye level and marveled at him for a few seconds. It was amazing to think that this was him –but not exactly him - before he had even been born, summoned from the future, but done so in the past. Yup, he had better not confuse himself about that again.

He placed the baby near Queen Ygraine's sigil, and was about to join their hands together to say the spell when the sound of approaching hooves. For a moment, as a sweaty palm froze over Ambrose's tummy preventing him from rolling over, Merlin thought it was Arthur. He thought that somehow, the King had come after him.

Then he realized that Gaius would not have told Arthur about this little side trip even if the blonde had somehow decided to put his pride aside and find his wayward manservant least he caught Merlin in the middle of a magical ritual.

The sight of a bay mare breaking the forest line and entering the clearing proved his latter thoughts true, as the lady sitting astride the horse rode into the clearing.

Chapter 29

Lady Deidre felt a burst of triumph when she spotter the gangly boy…and the baby.

It had taken her a couple of hours to reach him. Once the young prince had so unknowingly revealed the presence of the child in the castle, she had gone in search of him.

The physician's chambers had been empty when she arrived there, and she had grown anxious with the sudden suspicion that the baby was being returned to the Castle Balch ruins.

Informing her two maids to make her excuses while she was gone, the red-head had immediately rushed to procure a horse from the royal stables without the King's permission.

Now, here she was, with the child within her grasp, just as she had longed for since she had first envisioned him.

"Give me the child."

The boy stared at her, then, "What?" he croaked.

"I said give the child to me. Now."

Merlin laughed. Almost hysterically, as if it were some joke.

"Why?" he asked.

Sliding off the horse, Lady Deidre took some steps forward. Merlin tensed, but did not back away.

"I need not answer to the likes of you, Emrys," she hissed. "Now, GIVE ME THE CHILD!"

Merlin's hair stood on end as she shrieked. Ambrose broke out in a wail.

"If you know who I am, then you know who he is," said Merlin indicating the weeping baby on the altar. His hand had not left the child, and his eyes were narrowed at the woman. "And you know I'm not going to give him to you. Why do you want him?"

"Oh, Emrys," Lady Deidre simpered. "So young, so naive. So untrained. Do you really think you can stop me? Oh, I know who you are of course. But, you do not know me…and I want that child…that power."

Merlin saw her eyes staring almost hungrily at Ambrose, and it was creeping the hell out of him.

"Even if you had him, you couldn't take the energy he has. Only I can choose to give it to you."

Laughing, Lady Deidre mocked him. "As I said, you are so naïve. I don't need you."

Merlin saw the moment her eyes turned – not gold, as he was anticipating - but red. She hurled a spell at him, and he ducked to avoid being hit.

Seeing the woman heading for him, he looked down at the baby on the altar. He grabbed one of Ambrose's little hands in one of his own, placed them both over the late Queen's sigil, and muttered his own spell.

The blinding flash of white made him shut his eyes against it. If he had not, he would have seen the glowing mass of red speeding towards him. All he heard was a loud scream of 'No!' before the darkness took him.

…To Be Continued