Warnings: AU, SLASH, Possible OOC, and some OC'S.

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, and I am not making any money off of this.

A/N: Am I the only one who wonders about merlin's past? After all Will couldn't have been his only friend, and since Ealdor is in Cenred's kingdom and Magic isn't outlawed there then maybe there was another reason he left? It was pondering this that I got the idea for this fic. This is my first Merlin fanfic, so let me know what you think!

Merlin sighed as he watched Arthur training with his Knights, his new Knights. It wasn't that he didn't like Elyan, Gwaine, or Lancelot; really he considered Gwaine and Lancelot close friends, and Elyan a pleasant sort of bloke. As for Percival and Leon, well he didn't really care about them either way, didn't even know them really. It was just that in the months following Morgana's betrayal they had gotten closer. Arthur and his Knights that is.

He supposed it was inevitable, after all Arthur had never had the opportunity to actually be friends with his Knights before, and after everything that this group had been through together it was only natural that they became close friends. Not just what they had been through together fighting Morgana and her army, but each of them had had adventures with Arthur and each other individually as well over the years prior to the invasion of the immortal army.

Oh sure, he was still friends with Gwaine and Lancelot... and Arthur. But over the past few months it had slowly been shifting. They spent more and more time with each other, training, hunting, and relaxing. They had more in common then Merlin did with any of them. Elyan and Lancelot were commoners, and Gwaine considered himself one, and they were able to bond with each other because of that fact. Merlin could never understand because... well because Arthur hadn't made him a knight. He tried to force down the pang he felt at the thought.

Anger? Jealousy? Both maybe, however silly that was. Merlin knew he wouldn't have made a good Knight; he just wasn't suited for it. But that didn't stop him from wishing that he too could be considered equal. After all he had done more than enough to deserve it, but of course Arthur didn't know that. Nobody did, save Lancelot and Gaius.

Out of them all Lancelot at least treated him the same, noticed him the most. But even then he had less time, busy with his new duties and friends. Merlin felt increasingly forgotten, even Gwen barely had time for him anymore. She fit perfectly into Arthurs circle, privately considered by those among it to be the future queen. Gaius was the same as always, but that did little to ease Merlin's loneliness. After all Gaius had the entire court and city to tend to, he was a busy man. Besides Merlin craved friends, not that he didn't consider Gaius so, but he was more of a father figure. Not what Merlin needed at the moment.

As for Arthur, well it seemed having friends agreed with him. He was nicer overall, gave him less chores, and was less insulting. Merlin hated it. Oh he was sure that Arthur still thought of him the same way, as a loyal friend, and somewhat dim. But Arthur had new friends now, ones that he could trust. He had less time for Merlin, spent less time bantering with him, joking, or insulting him. Their easy friendship was quickly disappearing, and Arthur didn't even seem to notice. That was the worst of it really, that Arthur didn't notice, because it meant that he just didn't care the way that he used to. Now Arthur went to his Knights when he had a problem, or wanted to waste time, or well anything really.

It wasn't like they didn't include him; he still followed Arthur around like always. But now it was more like he was an outsider looking in, and he didn't like the feeling. Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder why he left home in the first place. He missed his friends; he missed feeling as if he belonged. He missed feeling as if he mattered. After all magic wasn't outlawed in Cenred's kingdom, he could have stayed. He could have continued working for Kanen, as his personal servant. Maybe if he had Will would still be alive? If he hadn't left Kanen would have continued to leave Ealdor alone, as was their arrangement. But he had left, and Will was dead, and he couldn't change the past however much he wanted to.

But it had become too much for him, and he felt as if he was selling his soul. Which he supposed he had been, in a manner of speaking. And then of course after what happened, he couldn't have stayed. He hadn't had a choice, not really. He had done the only thing he could do, and came to Camelot. But that didn't make this any easier. Merlin sighed again and tilted his face up to the sun briefly from his spot on the fence before turning back to Arthur and the Knights.

They were beginning to wrap up, and Merlin hopped off the fence as they made their way towards him so that he could grab Arthur's things from him. It was when he turned around that he saw him, Frayne, one of his closest friends. Merlin was both shocked and overwhelmingly happy to him. He couldn't help but wonder fleetingly if it was magic that brought him here, due to Merlin's own thoughts mere moments before. And although he could tell from the look on his friend's face that whatever the reason was that brought him here it wasn't something good, he found he didn't care.

So he let a small somewhat sad smile quirk his lips as he made his way to his friend, and as they clapped each other on the back Merlin couldn't help but wonder, was he truly so lonely that he would welcome bad news if it meant he got to see a familiar face? He found that the answer was a resounding yes.

Arthur swiped at his sweaty brow as he signalled for practise to be brought to a close. It was an extremely hot day, and the long hours of practise and only magnified the heat. He longed for a nice cool bath to soak his aching limbs, and as soon as things were wrapped up here he would make sure to get Merlin to prepare him one. Immediately he felt a slight, slight, pang of guilt at the thought. He had tried to ease up on Merlin lately. He had been, there was no other word for it and he mentally cringed even as he thought it, touched that Merlin had stuck by him throughout the entire Morgana... issue. He had remained with him to witness Morgana's speech, had been the one to give him the kick into action that he needed, and had remained with them throughout the rest even though he really was pants at fighting.

It had given him a new appreciation for his friend. So he had lightened up a bit. After all there was no reason he had to drag Merlin on hunt when he hated them so much, especially now that he had Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan, Percival, and Leon. And why pointlessly drag him on scouting missions, raids, or all the other dangerous duties he had? Merlin had proven to be beyond loyal, and Arthur felt guilty for abusing that by needlessly dragging him into danger time and time again. He stopped insulting him so much too, after all he had meant what he said about being equals with all those at the round table. And if he happened to notice that their friendship wasn't as easy as it was before, well it really was for the best if it meant keeping Merlin safe.

So it was with these thoughts occupying Arthur's mind, distracting him, as they made their way off the training field. It wasn't until Elyan had said, "Say, who is that Merlin is talking to?" that Arthur shook himself free of his thoughts. Glancing up he didn't recognize the man, he looked to be about Merlin's age, and judging by the warm welcome they obviously knew each other well.

"I've not seen him around before." Lancelot replied, curiously gazing over at Merlin and his companion. Arthur followed Lancelot's gaze, curious as well. Judging from the frequent hand gestures and rapidly moving lips they were having an intense discussion.

"Well, let's find out shall we?" Arthur said, nodding at his men before making his way slowly towards his manservant. As the group walked towards them they were able to hear part of the conversation, as it appeared Merlin and his... friend were to wrapped up to notice their approach.

"Are you sure?" Merlin's voice floated down to them. "I've not heard anything about his arrival..."

"Straight from the horse's mouth, I overheard him talking to Julian; they plan to make a surprise visit."

They heard Merlin groan, "Great, just what I need. I suppose they're coming to find out where she is?"

"That's what I figured...But Merlin that's not all..."

Again Merlin groaned. "That's not all?" And now they were close enough to see Merlin's companion shake his head.

"Kanen will be coming as well."

"Lovely, just what I need, to attend to the personal needs of Kanen on top of trying to keep Lord Rion and Julian from killing me on sight ..."

"Well it could be worse." At Merlin's how-could-it-possibly-be-worse look his friend elaborated. "Elaine could have chosen to come with them..." And it seemed that Merlin finally noticed the Knights approach because he quietly murmured something to his friend, causing him to nod, clap his arm lightly, and walk off.

Arthur's mind was whirring as he tried to wrap his brain around what he had just heard. Merlin had been Kanen's servant? Why would any Lord want to kill Merlin on sight? He exchanged looks with Gwaine, what had Merlin gotten himself into this time?

So, love it, hate it? Review and let me know what you think!