A/N: So.. Here's my first Merlin Fan Fic! I've had this idea knocking around in the back of my mind since the series ended. And of course like everybody else, wished that there would be more. A 'Return of Arthur' kind of thing for the next season; or a new series with Merlin and Arthur and some new characters. (And amongst all this would be flashbacks Merlin has about conversations or memories of the original series' characters, etc.). So anyway here's the first chapter of it. If you guys like it and want more, please review and let me know. Also this may be a story where I just write down snippets, and not really flesh it out. I don't know yet, so we'll try this out for now.

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Merlin. Ta Da!

Merlin: The Return Of Arthur

Chapter 1: The Once and Future King

Mist swirled across a vast, still lake. Above, the moon silhouetted a single ancient tower atop an island hill. Thunder rolled in the distance-despite the cloudless sky-and the water rippled with it. Then quietly a voice spoke in the silence.

"Merlin..."

A pale figure of a woman draped in white robes stood upon the lake. Her face was obscured by the fog, but she seemed to emanate peace.

"Merlin..."

An elderly man shot up in his bed with a gasp, causing both his bed, and his back, to creak loudly in protest. Blue eyes shot open and then winced in pain. His white hair fluttered over his shoulders, and he sighed. Two beds down a man in a cot coughed in his sleep and Merlin looked around, breathing heavily. 'Who..?' He swallowed, 'Frieda?..'

"Merlin..."

It was her. Merlin stumbled up out of the cot, grabbed up a small ring with two keys from a rickety bedside table, and a simple thick walking cane. He hobbled to a small chest at the end of his bed, gathered what he needed, and slipped out of the large room.

Now dressed in a dark blue jacket and trousers and shoving a small blue beanie on his head, Merlin rushed out onto a strangely quiet London street. But he didn't waste time on this anomaly, and it slipped to the back of his mind where he would remember it later. He hurried down the sidewalk to a tube entrance and got on the train. Soon he got off and hobbled to a storage locker center for the tube and using one of the two keys he had, opened the locker door and pulled out a small saddle bag. Swinging it over his shoulder, he hopped back onto the tube. An hour later he climbed out of a nearly empty train car and went up out of the station to the streets once more.

A bus ride and a short walk later found Merlin on the shore of a vast lake. In the distance above the fog loomed a small island crowned with a very old tower. The waters were still as glass and it would have been difficult to tell which was real and which was the reflection, if Merlin had not had his feet planted firmly on the ground. The full moon was low in the sky, and sinking lower still.

"Merlin.."

Merlin straightened at the voice. It sounded much stronger than it had before.

"The time to awaken Arthur Pendragon has come.."

"Who are you?" He asked the voice, but it did not respond. Dropping his bag near the trees and with a glance around to make sure he was alone, the wizard muttered a spell and held his arms out. A dim light shone around him and a moment later he was wearing a long crimson robe, and the cane in his outstretched hand transformed into a staff. The light faded and he made his way to the waters edge, peering out into the distance.

Then suddenly the fog began to grow denser, roiling, and somewhere in the distance a sound like deep thunder rumbled. The mist slid quickly across the lake, stopping before it touched the opposite shore. At the very center of the mist, a pale blue light shone. The shadow of a small boat appeared, and the light turned yellow like torchlight. And that was what it was. For as the boat emerged from the fog, two torches at either end of the boat burned brightly. Merlin dropped his staff and stepped into the water, not caring that he was getting wet. The boat soon arrived beside him, slowing as it met with the softened ground. The sorcerer peered inside and his spirits soared, a tearful grin breaking out across his face. Arthur Pendragon, the Once and the Future King of Albion, had returned.

A/N: So what did you think? Short, I know, but I wanted to get it up here. Review and let me know what you think. (Also if I've made any errors or mistakes, kindly inform me.) Thanks! :)