Disclaimer: I own nothing but a brain with too many thoughts

(All mistakes are my own apologies in advance just in case)

Camelot was eerily quiet, the sky an unnatural yellow and the air was so thick you could taste it. From Gaius' workroom in the castle, Merlin could feel the storm building. If he concentrated he could feel the layers of pressure settle in the surrounding area and seep into the castle. It was easy to let his mind wander as he bottled some strange concoction that had been left to settle over night.

The enjoyed the peace and quiet of the workroom, as the rest of the castle was preparing for a diplomatic visit from another kingdom, a brother and sister, Prince and Princess who would be arriving the following evening. They would bring with them any number of nobility, guards and servants to make the right impression, Uther of course, would not be outdone and had everyone working night and day to ensure the castle and surrounding area looked perfect, new clothes had been ordered fro everyone, and any number of other preparations were taking place. Arthur of course hated it all and had taken some of the knights out away from the castle to train, supposedly for the tournament held in honour of their guests, but Merlin knew it was just so he could avoid the preparations and everything that went with them. He only hoped that Arthur made it back before the storm broke or he would have an even harder time cleaning clothes.

Finishing up his work, Merlin became aware of how heavy the air had become, curious he stepped out into the winding corridors of the castle, narrowly avoiding a passing servant with an armful of clothes. As he progressed he passed many more people with clothes to be cleaned, repaired or fitted. Reaching the courtyard without incident he looked up at the sky, suddenly nervous as he watched the unnatural play of colours across its expanse. Closer to home another flash of colour caught his eye as Gwen collected a number of dresses from a seamstress, know she would be unable to carry them all and walk he darted over to her and removed the top few dresses from her pile.

"More new clothes? Surely Morgana has enough dresses for one hundred diplomatic visits"

"You know how Uther feels about Camelot being properly represented; I would have thought Arthur would have had just as many new clothes"

"Who knows, he has been staying out of the way, which means I have nothing to do so lead on"

Gwen just smiled as she walked into the castle, Merlin was trying his best to be helpful but she knew how clumsy he was and couldn't help but be concerned for the clothing he was now carrying. Surprisingly the clothes survived the journey to Morgana's chambers and Gwen was able to open the door without loosing her own grip on her cargo. Merlin stood in the corridor unsure of whether to follow or not, walking unannounced into Arthur's room was very different from doing the same to Morgana. Before he could work it out for himself Morgana appeared in the doorway and took and took the dresses from him.

"Arthur would be surprised as this show of propriety"

Merlin blushed

"Different circumstances, totally different"

Seeing Merlin stuttering in the doorway, Gwen couldn't help but laugh, but the sound was drowned out by a deafening rumble, as the gathering storm broke above the castle. Vibrating through every stone the noise seemed to be everywhere at once and ran through Merlin's bones.

Knowing the storm would drive Arthur back to the castle despite all the preparations, Merlin decided to go and prepare Arthur's room. Making his way through the castle corridors he could see the flashes of lightening from the open doors of busy rooms and the thunder continued to roll through his bones. The unease he had felt earlier continued to grow with the sounds of the storm and he knew it would remain until Arthur was back. Something about feel of the storm had got under his skin.

Merlin made a quick detour back to the workroom and picked up a small bottle of bitter liquid, although Arthur would complain about the taste, its warming effect would stop him from complaining too much. Upon reaching Arthur's room, Merlin began to build the fire once again letting his mind wander, trying not to allow his thoughts to focus on his fear for his friend. Once the fire was build a quick word send sparks into the wood but the lack of concentration caused a slightly larger than expected fire to appear scorching the stone work before Merlin could calm he blaze. Looking around to check no one had seen him, Merlin back away from the fire, deciding it would be safer if he kept himself occupied in more non-magical ways.

Merlin continued to tidy the room as he listened to the rain and the movement of other servants in the castle, however the noises soon changed, there was more urgency in the steps and the muffled voices had a different ring than usual. Putting it down to the storm he continued his work,

"Merlin!"

Spinning around, Merlin nearly knocked Gwen over as she cannoned into the room.

"Arthur's missing, the knights have all returned, the horses bolted when the storm broke and they were split up, everyone has come back apart from Arthur."

The knights of Camelot prepared to ride out into the storm, watching from the castle Uther stood with his advisors, with a small nod he sent them on their way. Merlin watched the knights disappear into the darkness; he knew that Arthur was an excellent horseman, better than many of knights who were searching for him yet he had not returned. If what the knights said was true, the horses had taken fright in the storm; many of them had lost their horses and returned on foot. If the same had happened to the prince he could be anywhere and the only way he would be found would be if one of his knights rode into him.

Before he realised his feet were moving Merlin stepped out into Courtyard unnoticed, the sting of the rain barely registered as he ran through the gates, there was no sign of the knights who had left only moments before. Unbidden the words of a spell formed in Merlin's mind, the words pouring out of his mouth, almost taking shape before flying off into the wind torn air forming a kaleidoscope of colours across the clouds. Merlin followed the line drawn by his spell across the sky; before it could fade he placed his destination in his mind and ran against the storm. He knew Arthur was close; the light had stopped just over a mile away. Trust him to loose his way so close to home. Merlin ran across open ground stumbling on stones strewn across the ground. Knowing he must be close, Merlin created a small spark of green light that danced across the palm of his hand, stopped for a second to watch the reflections in the falling rain before throwing it into the storm. His spell hovered for a second before slipping through the rain a few feet ahead of Merlin where it danced in the air.

Lying beneath the spell was Arthur, he was lying on his side and his eyes while open were unfocused and dull.