"Please come to edge of the forest, 9pm. I have something I need to show you.

Merlin."

Atrhur read the note again before looking round at the people that surrounded him.

"And you all got the same note?"

"Yes my lord" replied Leon. Gwen, Elyan, Percival and Gwaine all nodded. Arthur turned to Gaius.

"And you say his mother got one too?"

Gaius looked thoughtful "Yes, but I can't see what's so important that he would ask Hunith to travel all the way from Ealdor, goodness knows it's not an easy journey."

"Maybe he's got a girl!" laughed Gwaine. "Don't be an idiot, Gwaine! Merlin couldn't get a girl if he was the last male in all the five kingdoms!" exclaimed Arthur, seemingly shocked at the suggestion Merlin had ever been within 5 metres of a girl. Gwen, however, was not laughing.

"Arthur, don't be so horrible, I'm sure Merlin could get any girl he wanted."

"Well just as long as it's not you, my dear" Arthur replied, smiling lovingly at his queen.

"Please, that my sister your talking to!" The other knights laughed at Elyan's discomfort.

"She's a big girl now, Elyan" quipped Gwaine, causing both Elyan and Gwen to turn on him.

"Shut up!" they exclaimed together, both with a similar hard look on their face.

"Anyway" Leon spoke up again, keen to get back to the matter in hand, "what do you suppose the note means."

All turned to Gaius "you know him best" spoke Gwen kindly, "has he given any hints to what it might be?"

"No, in fact I've barely seen him all day, we'll just have to wait and see"

FemaleMerlin FemaleMerlin FemaleMerlin

All day Merlin worked hard to avoid the knights and their awkard questions, and all day the knights tried to get his secret out of him.

"Come on, give your Uncle Gwaine a clue!"

"You're NOT my Uncle, thank the Lord"

"Merlin, as your King, I order you to tell me what is going on"

"Sorry, stables need cleaning, must dash"

"Merlin, you're a good servant-"

"Flattery won't work Percy"

By 8pm, as Merlin made his way to the forest he was shattered, especially as he had spent his free time away from the knights being questioned by Gaius and Gwen. Honestly! They were all so impatient, if they only waited till the end of the day they would find out. Well, not quite. But they didn't know that! To tell the truth he was also getting quite nervous. This was a big moment for him and they were trying to rush him. He was scared of how they would react, well not so much Gaius and his mother, they already knew most. And Gwen was such a kind heart, and Gwaine, well Gwaine was Gwaine. These sort of things didn't matter to him. Leon worried him though, he had been brought up in Camelot, as a noble, and Percival, he was unsure of how Percival would react. But in all truth, it was Arthur that bothered him the most. Arthur, as King, had the power to turn all of Camelot against him, or even kill him! But Arthur wouldn't do that. Would he?

Well, Merlin thought, sighing, only one way to find out!