MC4A Winter Bingo

Prompt: 4C; Gold

Representations: Magic; Space travel; devotion; immortality; friendship; Merlin; SG-1 team

Stacked With: Winter Bingo; Final Frontiers; BAON; ToS; SiN; Not Commonwealth; Lessons Learned; Paranormal Phantasm; New Fandom Smell; Long Haul

Bonus Challenges: Infinity; Second Verse (Creature Feature; Mermaid; Rock of Ages; Odd Feathers; Some Beach; Tomorrow's Shade; Ladylike - Military Service; Found Family)

Word count: 1,886

The team was gathered around the briefing table. On the projector screen there was a picture recovered from MALP footage showing a man holding his hand out towards the camera and his eyes glowing gold. Teal'c didn't recognise him as any Goa-uld he knew, and the planet was not one known for Goa-uld occupation. The hope was that the man was either Tok'ra or amenable to an alliance with Earth against the System Lords.

P3X-749 had an atmosphere similar to Earth and the surroundings by the Stargate had seemed unharmed by battle. Nevertheless, there was a possible Goa-uld enemy near the Stargate and they would have to be cautious when they stepped through the wormhole. As they had learned many times on their travels, a peaceful looking planet may not actually be peaceful.

Merlin was preparing dinner when the Portal opened and spat out four people. A quick assessment of the rabbit he was skinning said he didn't have enough to feed four extra people unless he made a stew. The Portal was a fair walk from his home so he probably had enough time to quickly gather the necessary ingredients and start on a stew.

With a sigh, he set aside the now skinned rabbit and knife before lifting himself up and grabbing the old bag Gaius had given him so long ago for gathering herbs. A flash of golden eyes and a muttered word ensured that no hungry creature would enter and steal his rabbit, and nor would an enemy. It was short work gathering the things he needed thanks to him cultivating a plot of land nearby with everything he might need for poultices and food.

He was just throwing everything into the boiling pot of water he had brought out when the four travellers entered his clearing. One of them was Jaffa, Merlin noted. The symbol of Apophis branded on his forehead and presence of a symbiote within him gave that away, although Merlin had never seen a Jaffa away from their home not in the armour of the god they served.

The other three seemed human and were dressed the same as the Jaffa. Merlin raised an eyebrow at that; a Jaffa working with Tau'ri? Still, he wouldn't get any answers if he didn't ask questions and the best way to get someone to open up to you was by feeding them.

"Welcome. The stew will be ready soon, would you like to sit down?" Merlin gestured to the log benches across from him.

Warily, they sat down. Merlin took no offense to their wariness, it was never good to let your guard down until you knew you were dealing with a friend. The leader—or so Merlin assumed—cleared his throat and asked, "You get visitors often?"

"Not so much, no. But the Portal is hardly subtle and I always know when someone has arrived."

"You are not a Goa'uld," states the Jaffa and Merlin nods in agreement.

"No, I am not. Nor am I Tok'ra. There is no symbiote inside of me." The rabbit meat was starting to disintegrate, letting Merlin know that the stew was ready. "Stew?"

His attitude seemed to have set them off kilter and they all nodded in the way that said they had no real idea of what was going on but were happy to go with the flow. Merlin's mind flashed back to the last time he had cooked and shared a meal with a group of warriors, when Arthur had still been alive and Camelot standing proudly. Even though many years had passed since that time, the memories were as fresh as they had ever been.

What would those soldiers think of the world he lived in now? They, who had fought so hard to eradicate magic under Uther's rule would no doubt struggle with beings from other planets. The technology that Merlin had seen during his travels around the universe had the semblance of magic and was used in the way that Uther had seen Magic as being – for the worse of those it was used on.

"So," started the man with glasses, "if you're not Goa'uld or Tok'ra, what are you?"

Merlin gazed at him as he deftly filled five bowls with stew and started handing them out. He waited until they were shuffling uncomfortably in the silence—the Jaffa silently eating the stew, seemingly unperturbed.

"A tad presumptuous to ask of someone's species when you have yet to know their name, don't you think?"

The man flushed and ducked his head. "Right, sorry. I'm Daniel Jackson." He pointed to each member of the group and named them. The female was Major Samantha (Sam) Carter, the leader was Colonel Jack O'Neill, and the Jaffa was Teal'c. Merlin inclined his head to all of them as they were introduced.

"You are welcome here so long as you respect the lands. I am Merlin."

"Merlin?" Jack asked, sceptical.

"I do believe that is what I said. Is there something wrong with my name?"

Daniel hastened to interrupt whatever Jack might have said and Merlin got the feeling that the man often played mediator between those they met and the other members of his team. "No! There's nothing wrong with it, it's just that we have a legend on our world about someone called Merlin."

Merlin shrugged, it had been bound to happen given that he had travelled around several planets via the Portal and aided those he could. "It's a common name."

"It's really not," was Jack's remark. "You say the name Merlin and everyone's going to think about the dude that was King Arthur's sorcerer and still waits for the king to come back to life."

Merlin froze. Only one world would know that story and he had left it behind not long after Gwen had died. He had exchanged his name with an Ancient for knowledge of the universe and the Astria Porta. The Ancient had stayed behind on Earth while Merlin left to explore. He had known then that he would not age, still as youthful in appearance as he had been when he first stepped foot into Camelot.

"You hail from Earth then."

All four of them sat up straighter at that, a tension running through the whole group. "You know Earth?" asked Sam.

"Yes, I know Earth. At one point, it was my home, although I have long since left it behind."

"How? You're barely twenty years old, for crying out loud."

Merlin grinned at Jack. "I can assure you, I have been around for far longer than twenty years. You would know better than I how long I've been alive, time has no meaning for me here."

"You're Merlin," Daniel breathed out in awe. "The actual Merlin."

"Unless there's another sorcerer you know who served under Arthur, yes, I'm the actual Merlin from your tales."

"So, what, you were a host and the Goa'uld died leaving you with the ability to use their devices and a really long life span?"

Merlin sighed. Uther would be thrilled that so little magic was known and practiced on Earth that it was now thought to be non-existent. "I have never been host to a symbiote, nor do I ever plan to be. I was born of Magic and that is what keeps me around."

"What are you doing here, though?" Daniel asked.

"Waiting."

The answer was a simple one and yet it seemed to confuse them even more. Teal'c was examining his now empty bowl and gazing contemplatively at Jack's discarded one which was still full. Merlin nudged the wooden ladle around the pot so that it faced the Jaffa in an open invitation for him to have more.

"Why here, shouldn't you be waiting on Earth if you're waiting for Arthur?"

"Do you know what this planet is called, Sam?" When the women shook her head, Merlin smiled grimly. "It's called Avalon. An Ancient I knew shared his knowledge of the universe with me and I knew immediately that this is where I was supposed to be. So I came, and now I wait."

"And what about the Goa'uld?" Teal'c was helping himself to his second serving of stew as he asked this and Merlin was glad that at least someone was enjoying his cooking.

He shrugged as they waited for his answer. "The Goa'uld know this to be a planet they are not welcome upon, as do the other Galaxy Powers. Should they decide to come anyway, they are quickly reminded of why that is a bad idea."

"We could use your help telling the Goa'uld to stop trying to rule people all over the galaxy. That's why we came, to see if you could aid us in the battle against the Goa'uld."

Merlin smiled sadly at Daniel. "I'm afraid at this point I am merely an observer. You do not need me just yet. When all hope is lost, that is when I will come, following my king into battle once more."

There was silence among the group of five after that, broken only by the sounds of Teal'c (and eventually the others) eating the rabbit stew. The silence would most likely have been broken by more attempts to have Merlin leave his home to join the battle if it were not for the fact that Merlin had cast a small spell that dissuaded them from trying such a thing.

It would wear off as soon as they returned through the Portal and Merlin felt no guilt for twisting their minds in such a way. He could not aid them in their fight and had no wish to dishearten them further by refusing every attempt they made to coax him into the fight.

With full bellies and no new ally in their war, the group of four left Merlin's clearing and headed towards the Portal. Merlin watched them go, his eyes turning golden as he whispered a protection spell over all four of them. He may not be able to actively aid them, but he could give them the benefit of a protection spell as they battled the Goa'uld for the freedom of the whole galaxy.

Not wishing to deal with the remnants of the meal he had shared, Merlin waved a hand and the dishes took themselves to the nearby bucket of water while the fire died out. The shadow of a dragon passed overhead and the sound of the Portal closing drifted through the air.

"I really hope you know what you're doing, Arthur," Merlin muttered out loud as he headed into the woods for his daily wandering. As he walked, he let his eyes glow golden and magic drip from his fingers, letting it soak into the earth and the plants. He looked after Avalon and Avalon looked after him, providing all he would ever need just as he provided magic so that Avalon could thrive.

One day, he would leave the planet he had come to call his own. One day, he would not merely observe. Instead, he would follow Arthur as his king led him into battle. But that day was not today, so Merlin would continue to wait. No matter how many lifetimes it took for Arthur to return, Merlin would still be there when he awoke. What good was a king without his trusty manservant, after all?