It was a quiet Thursday morning at Tess's coffee shop and Bakery. Not very many people coming or going, and even less sitting at the small two person tables. It was a dreary day outside, all snow and wind, but it had a sort of peaceful, comfortable feel to it. Like the kind of weather you would snuggle up with a book and a cup of hot tea beside a fire in.

Merlin sat in a corner of the shop, his usual spot beside the big window looking out onto the street. He had his usual cup of cinnamon hot tea sitting beside him on the table next to his laptop. Some days he would have a white chocolate mocha latte, or in the autumn season a pumpkin spice or gingerbread latte, but usually he just had cinnamon hot tea.

"What are you up to today, Merlin?" asked a familiar voice. Merlin tuned to find Chelsea, a senior in college who worked at the shop, standing behind him. Merlin came to the little shop so often that he and Chelsea had become fast friends. She reminded him a lot of Gwen, although she wasn't the Queen's latest reincarnation. Slightly outspoken, but bold and forthright with a good and generous heart. But however much she reminded him of Gwen in her character, they were nothing alike when it came to looks. Chelsea had a kind of elvish look to her. Pale skin, petite, and very blonde. Her green eyes twinkled as she smiled at him and her short hair was escaping it's place behind her small ears.

"Hello Chels", said Merlin with a grin. "I'm not doing much here, just looking at some new telescope models. You know they came out with a digital one? It's fascinating, I just can't wait to get my hands on it!"

"Merlin, Merlin, Merlin, always with your head up in the sky. Why don't you come down for a little bit? Some friends and I are going ice skating tonight. Care to join us?"

"Hmmmm, I don't know Chels," replied Merlin with an air of uncertainty in his voice. "I've got loads of stuff to do tonight..."

"Like what?", asked Chelsea indignantly. "Are you having a wild star-gazing party? Or maybe you'll be busy singing into your hairbrush while you fold clothes."

"Precisely!" said Merlin with a grin. "Those clothes aren't going to fold themselves after all."

Chelsea shot him a steely glare. "You're a rubbish liar Merlin."

Merlin sighed. "Yeah, I've been told before. Of course I'll come tonight. It's not like I have anything of importan-", Merlin broke off as a shudder ran through him so violently that his knee banged the table and his tea was knocked to the floor. Merlin didn't care though, because right then his vision blurred and was replaced by the view of a peaceful lake, the shallow water frozen and the ground frosted with snow and ice. A soft glow was emanating from the deep water further out, it's glow growing harsher and warmer as it grew. At that moment a single thought invaded Merlin's mind: Arthur.

In one fluid motion he jumped up, gathered his coat and laptop, and raced to the door of the little shop.

"Wait, Merlin! What are you doing? Where are you going? I better get a tip for cleaning this mess up!", Chelsea yelled after him.

Just outside the shop sat Merlin's blue Mini Cooper. He yanked the door open and plopped into the seat, fumbling with his keys as he rammed them into the ignition. He peeled away from the curb with a squeal of the tires and raced down the road, towards the old lake of Avalon.

When Merlin finally reached the lake after about an hour of speeding down the country road, all was silent. And not just silent as in no sound. There was no wind, no birds chirping, no bugs buzzing, no waves lapping the shore. Only the sound of Merlin slamming the car door behind him as he clambered out of the car broke the eery stillness. He wrapped himself in his black coat and pulled his red scarf tight around his neck. His feet crunched on the frozen ground as he carefully made his way to the edge of the lake and stared out over the icy water.

He stood like this for several minutes, shivering in the cold. Just as he was starting to think that his vision had been a fluke, a slight glow began out on the lake. As Merlin watched, the light grew bigger and brighter, turning from soft gold to a white so bright it hurt to look at. Merlin heard a loud crack as the ice on the lake split in a jagged line. Merlin squinted and covered his eyes with his arm as the light grew still brighter, turning everything to shades of grey and harsh outlines. Just then a gust of wind, stronger than any Merlin had ever experienced, rushed past him, screaming in his ears. And then, everything stopped. A slight breeze began, making Merlin shiver, and the eery silence was gone. Merlin uncovered his eyes, bright spots dancing in his vision. Slowly he looked up and saw that the cracked ice had mended and even grown thicker. Merlin let his eyes wander up, farther out to the lake. His gaze finally landed on a figure huddled on the ice, his red cloak fanning out around him, his head buried in his knees.

Merlin took a hesitant step onto the ice, wanting so much to go to the figure out there but unsure of what would happen. As he pondered this he took another careful step, and when the ice remained firm, another. Making up his mind, Merlin strode across the ice, having to restrain himself from outright sprinting.

After what seemed like an eternity, Merlin finally reached to person huddled on the ice. Still unsure, he stopped a few paces away. He could see golden blond hair slicked down from water. In fact, the man was completely soaked. Merlin could see that his hands were trembling, and spasms of shivers racked him. Finding his voice, Merlin spoke.

"Arthur?" Merlin's voice wavered. After a moment, the man lifted his head, and turned to look at Merlin with bright blue eyes, full of dismay and confusion.

"Merlin?", he croaked out. "Merlin, is it you? My vision is all blurred, I can't really see anything. What's happened? Why am I soaking wet and so cold? Why-"

With a glad cry Merlin flung himself at Arthur, grabbing at his cloak and pulling him into his arms. He felt a tear escape his watering eyes, and then another. Soon he was sobbing into Arthur's cloak and gasping for breath. Alarmed, Arthur pulled away.

"Merlin, what's happened? What is it? Why are you crying?"

Merlin grinned back at him with tears still spilling from his eyes in an endless flow. "You're back...Arthur, it's been so, so long, and I just can't believe you're finally back." Seeing Arthur's extremely confused expression, Merlin tried to gain some composure. "C'mon," he said, wiping his eyes, "I'll explain everything once you are warm and have something dry on."

Merlin held out his hand to Arthur. He hesitated, but after a moment took the offered hand, and Merlin pulled him up off the ice. As Merlin lead him across the frozen lake, Arthur leaned heavily on him. Suddenly Arthur lost his footing and slipped on the slick ice. As a reflex he grabbed onto Merlin's arm, ripping the material of his jacket as he fell. Shocked, Merlin crouched down next to Arthur.

"Are you alright, Arthur?"

"Yeah, just, uh, a bit dizzy... oh, I ripped your jacket..." he trailed off as he became aware of Merlin's clothing. His expression becoming confused, he asked "Merlin, what are you wearing?"

Merlin glanced down at his grey jeans, black converse, and black V-neck shirt covered by his black coat and red scarf. Considering his next words carefully, he replied "There are a lot of things that have changed, Arthur. It'll be easier to explain after you've seen more of it." Once again helping Arthur up, Merlin continued to lead him towards the shore.

When they finally reached the edge of the lake, Arthur paused, staring straight ahead at Merlin's car parked on the side of the road. Merlin cleared his throat. "Uh, this is one of the things that I was talking about. That's changed I mean. This is an automobile, although most people just call it a car. It's, uh..." Merlin scratched his head, trying to think of an explanation that would make sense to his friend. "It's like a horseless carriage. It runs on oil and gasoline, and to turn it on you have to have a key." Merlin pulled out his key and showed it to Arthur. "See? There are a lot of them around, so you had better get used to them. This one," said Merlin, indicating the blue mini cooper, "belongs to me."

Arthur simply nodded in numb acceptance. He is going to be so overwhelmed, thought Merlin as he helped Arthur into the car. All he had seen were Merlin's clothes and one car, he couldn't even imagine how dizzying it would be for him to see the shops, people, and technology all at once for the first time.

When Merlin started the car, Arthur jumped in his seat, eyes wide, and let out a soft curse. He looked to Merlin for reassurance, and when Merlin smiled soothingly Arthur slowly relaxed. Merlin didn't say anything as he rolled back to the road and slowly picked up speed, aware that Arthur would be extremely alarmed if he went the posted speed limit. They rode in silence for a while, Merlin every once in a while glancing over at his friend, finding him tense and stony faced each time. When they came to the outskirts of the town, Merlin slowed to a stop on the side of the road. Arthur looked over at him questioningly. Merlin cleared his throat.

"Arthur," he said, turning to face him, "we are on the outskirts of the town where I live. As I said, there are a lot of big changes that have taken place in the world. I understand that it's all very overwhelming for you, but please don't ask me any questions until we get to my apartment. I promise I'll answer any and all questions there."

Arthur immediately opened his mouth. "What is an apartment?"

"It's like a cottage, except that there are a bunch of them stacked on top of each other. You'll understand when you see it," said Merlin, frowning. Arthur nodded, a slight pucker on his brow.

When they entered the town Arthur stared wide eyed and mouth gaping the whole way to Merlin's home. But he didn't ask a single question, which made Merlin glad. He didn't want to have to think about how to explain everything to Arthur while he was driving. When they finally reached his apartment complex, Arthur just whistled in amazement. Merlin let out a chuckle as he maneuvered through the gate.

There were only a few people out on their porches when Merlin helped Arthur out of the car, for he was still weak and shivering, despite the heater being on the entire way back to town. However, they all stared in mild amusement when they saw Arthur's heavy chain mail and armor, and their eyes widened when they caught sight of the sword sheathed at his side. Merlin chuckled again, catching Arthur's attention. "What's so funny, Merlin?"

Merlin glanced at Arthur, happy to hear the slight enunciation of his name after such a long time. "It's just that your armor is attracting some rather amusing expressions from my neighbors, sire."

Arthur pouted. "And what's so funny about my armor? Do people not still wear it?"

"Actually, no sire. They don't, not for quite a while now..." Merlin trailed off. That comment will evoke some questions, he thought. Just as he predicted, Arthur frowned, asking "What do you mean, not for quite a while now?" Merlin sighed and motioned for his friend to follow him up the stairs to his door. He paused when they got to the landing, looked back at Arthur, then shoved the key into the lock and pushed the door open. He stepped in, Arthur following after a moment's hesitation. The king looked around the small den in interest, walking around and picking up things like the television remote and a magazine to examine them. While Arthur was preoccupied, Merlin went in search of something for Arthur to change into. He had actually been so anxious for this moment that he had a small collection of clothing in Arthur's size. He pulled the box of clothes from the back of his closet and sorted through the various garments, picking out a pair of blue jeans and a red hoodie. Heading back to the den, he motioned for Arthur to follow him into the small kitchen, where the table was stacked with telescope equipment and dirty dishes.

Arthur frowned at the mess, shaking his head in mock disappointment. " Really Merlin," he said, "you're my servant, yet you keep your own home like a pigsty." Merlin glared at him and started to clear away the mess. "What's this?" asked Arthur, picking up a telescope lens.

"Don't mess with that! It's fragile!" said Merlin, snatching the piece of equipment out of the king's hand. He set it down gently on the counter and turned back to Arthur, who was giving him a quizzical look. "It's for a telescope..." Arthur nodded in understanding. "Sorry," Merlin muttered.

Arthur watched Merlin as he cleaned the rest of the table off. He had gained more muscle than Arthur remembered him with, and his fitted black shirt made his torso look lean and sculpted. For some reason this amused Arthur, for his servant had always been fairly scrawny. His gaze moved to Merlin's hands, where two spiked leather cuffs circled his wrists. He wondered at their purpose, or were they just there as an accessory, although Merlin had never seemed the type for fashion. His grey pants puzzled Arthur. They were like trousers, but they got slimmer the closer they got to the ankle. They looked odd to Arthur, but he supposed they must be a trend in these days. That thought made him wonder...

"Merlin," he said, "how long was I gone for? What exactly happened? All I can remember is that I was wounded, and you were taking me to the lake of Avalon, then Morgana..." Arthur let his sentence trail off. Merlin turned to look at him with a blank expression, although Arthur thought he saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes. Fear? Pain? Grief?

Merlin hesitated for a moment, then said "I can't explain right now. Here," he said, picking up a bundle of clothes off the table and showing them to Arthur, "I got you some clean clothes." Arthur eyed the bundle, hoping that these clothes didn't include the strange slim trousers. Merlin laughed at his apprehensive look. "Spread your arms, let me take that armor off."

Arthur complied, his tired arms shaking as he held them up. He felt the weight of the shoulder guard be lifted, then the gauntlets on his wrists came off. Merlin removed the belt and sword, placing them gently on the table with the rest of the armor. Arthur lifted his arms so Merlin could slide the heavy chain mail over his head. Arthur turned around and found Merlin smiling at him. "Better?"

"Much better."

"Good, now take your shirt off and you can put this on." Merlin held up a red hooded garment, with drawstrings around the collar. "It's called a hoodie," he said when Arthur had stared at it a moment without moving. Arthur still made no movement to remove his shirt.

"Oh, come on Arthur, it's warm and it's dry, and actually very comfortable. At least try it!"

Arthur stubbornly stood still, eying the 'hoodie'.

"Don't make me force you into it, because I will."

Arthur still did not move.

With a sigh, Merlin muttered "You leave me no choice then." With that said, he lunged at Arthur. Being tired and weak, Arthur wasn't quite fast enough to dodge the attack. Merlin caught him by the back of the shirt and yanked him back, sending him sprawling on the floor. Straddling him, Merlin began to yank the shirt over Arthur's head. "Merlin!" shouted Arthur. Laughing, Merlin wrestled Arthur's shirt off, Arthur fighting him the whole time. When Merlin finally removed the still soaking wet garment, he got to his feet, still chuckling, and went to drape the shirt over the back of a kitchen chair. Arthur lay there on the floor, shivering and pouting.

Merlin strode back to Arthur and put out his hand. Arthur glared at him but reached up and grasped the offered hand anyways. The warlock pulled Arthur to his feet with a grunt and then held out the red hoodie to him. "It's warm," he said with an amused look on his thin face.

"Hmph," Arthur grunted, jerking the offending hoodie out of his friend's hand. Merlin also handed him the jeans, which Arthur took with the same ill grace and pouting expression as the shirt. Merlin led the king to a room in a small hallway. Opening the door, Merlin gave a mocking bow and gestured for Arthur to enter the room. "Your chambers, sire," he said in a solemn voice.

"Shut up Merlin," Arthur replied with a jab to his servants ribs as he entered the room and the door was closed behind him.

Arthur looked around his 'chambers' with interest. It was a small room, with a twin sized bed pushed back against the wall. The coverlet on the bed was a bright red, almost the same shade as the cloaks that the knights wore. Thinking about the knights brought Arthur's thoughts to the strange circumstance he was in. He had obviously been away for quite along time, but what had happened? Or were they in an entirely different place than Camelot? Someplace far away that he had never heard of? Merlin's behavior was strange too. He was obviously sensitive about the subject, for whenever Arthur broached it Merlin shied away and quickly brought his attention to something else. Arthur shook his head out of his reverie and back to the task at hand, resolving to pry the news out of Merlin as soon as he was done changing clothes.

Arthur walked over to the bed and placed the clothes on it. He picked up the hoodie and began to examine it. The garment was made of a strange material, unfamiliar to Arthur but very soft. Arthur slipped the hoodie on over his head, getting his head stuck in the hood. After a bit of yanking he finally got the infernal hoodie on, and grudgingly admitted that it was indeed warm.

Next came the pants. Arthur picked these up and examined them too. He noted that the material was coarse, but not stiff. They were a faded blue colour, unfamiliar to Arthur. With a sigh Arthur pulled the not-trousers on and found that they were the exact right size. Merlin must have a stash of a clothes just for me, he thought to himself with a quiet chuckle. He fumbled a bit with the button, and wondered at the zipper, but eventually got the not-trousers secured correctly.

After successfully dressing himself in the strange clothes, Arthur proceeded to look about the room. The walls were a boring beige, as was the carpet covering the floor. There was a wooden trunk at the foot of the bed, and carved onto it were depictions of knights, horses, and a raging battle. Arthur crouched down to look at the trunk closer. In one picture was a cliff, and on the edge of the cliff there stood a robed and bearded figure holding a raised staff from which lightning poured forth and struck the soldiers below. The scene looked familiar to Arthur, and after a moment he realized the the scene was from the battle at Camlan against Morgana'a forces, the last battle he had fought...which meant that the sorcerer atop the cliff was Merlin. Arthur had almost forgotten about Merlin's magic, he had been to caught up in the strangeness of everything around him. Now, with a jolt, he realized that his friend must be powerful indeed if he had been able to summon lightning like that.

Arthur stood up quickly, and was rewarded with a dizzy head, reminding him that he was still rather weak. After gathering his composer, Arthur walked to the door and out into the hallway. He found Merlin in the kitchen, staring with an expression that Arthur couldn't quite place at his armor.

"Did you really miss cleaning my armor that much?"

Merlin jumped when he heard Arthur, and turned around with a slightly forced grin on his face that didn't reach his eyes. "Of course not sire. I was actually relishing in the fact that I don't have to clean it anymore."

"Just because people don't wear it doesn't mean that you get to stop cleaning it," retorted Arthur. "In fact, I want to be able to see my face in it by tomorrow morning."

Merlin's grin quickly faded, instead replaced by a steady glare at Arthur. With a huff he spun back around and swiftly but tenderly placed the armor back on the table, muttering something about waiting and loyalty and this is the thanks I get. Upon hearing this, Arthur remembered what he had planned on talking with Merlin about.

"So..." he began awkwardly, not quite sure how to phrase his question. "Um, what happened after the battle? I mean, after I passed out? Because all I can remember is Morgana scaring away our horses, and you, you know, killing her, and then there was a lot of panic and you seemed extremely upset but I can't remember exactly what about..." All this came out in one big rush. There was something else, tickling the back of his mind, and it felt like the faster he got it all out then he could catch that last memory before it was forgotten again.

Merlin stared at him with a blank expression, carefully hiding his emotions from Arthur. But Arthur knew Merlin too well for the sudden tension in his neck and flashing of his eyes to go unnoticed.

"Merlin," Arthur said slowly, "answer me."

Merlin let out the breath he had been holding and with it he seemed to deflate. He walked over to the sofa and motioned for Arthur to follow him. Arthur sat next to Merlin while he sat in silence for a moment, listening to the soft breathing of his manservant. The anticipation Arthur felt was building, the suspense almost unbearable. Just when Arthur was about to tell Merlin so, he lifted his head.

Looking Arthur dead in the eye, face a mask of pain and regret, Merlin whispered "You never passed out, Arthur. You..." he swallowed, "you died."