Merlin walked stiffly as he was lead to the throne room by his old friend sir Leon. Were they still friends? Merlin worried that he could sense fear coming from Leon, but he did not blame him. Everyone in Camelot had been taught to fear magic. Merlin wanted to say that he was sorry for not being able to bring the king home but he couldn't bring himself to think of it. Leon finally broke the long silence.

"Gwaine, he um, he was good friend of yours?" The warlock looked at the knight, confused the realised what Leon was asking.

"Yes." Merlin gave a small smile thinking of the good times he had had with the nearly never sober knight and all the times they had saved each other. It was the first time merlin had smiled in the 3 long years he had been away from Camelot. "The first time we met he saved me and Arthu-" his voice cut off as he had a sudden catch in his throat.

Leon didn't want to finish what he had to say either but he took a deep breath and said, "Gwaine, he, he died." Leon paused as Merlin looked up at him in disbelief. "Morgana killed him," he continued. "We went looking for her, but she found us first. She, she tortured him until he told her where you were." This cut even deeper into the wound in merlin's heart. Not only had he lost the king, but his great friend Kilgharrah the wise dragon had died in the last year and merlin had been by his side as one of the two only dragons in the five kingdoms left to pass on to the next world. "Did she find you?" Leon asked, not enjoying the silence.

"Yes," Merlin answered, thinking of how to word what he was going to say next. "I killed her," he said coolly as he looked at the knight who looked shocked.

"How?"

But before Merlin could answer they had arrived at the doors to the throne room. When the two guards opened the doors, Merlin looked in to see Gwen standing beside one of the stain glass windows looking out onto the courtyards. The throne room was just as Merlin remembered it, except there was now only one throne, standing against the middle of the back wall. Merlin began to walk into the room, as he did his heeled boots echoed through the almost empty hall and the doors were shut behind, making a steady thump as they did. Gwen turned around to face him. He gave a small bow, mostly with his head, his torso only moving slightly.

"Your highness." Merlin had always made the effort to treat Gwen with the respect she deserved. He struggled to face her worried about all he had put her through, to return without the king by his side and then to disappear only a few days later. Gwen ran up to him throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Merlin returned the hug, they were both glad to finally have a friend again.

"Merlin," Gwen whispered, reveling in her friend's company. "It's been far too long."

Merlin held her tighter. "I know," he responded. "I'm so sorry."

"Well now that you're here," Gwen said with a smile, releasing him, "there's a couple people I'd like you to meet."

She led him out of the hall, and into the corridor. At first he was surprised to the point of speechless at the abruptness, but when the sorcerer found his voice again, he asked, "Where are we going, Gwen? Who am I meeting?"

Gwen just smiled. "You'll see."

A few minutes later, a still-very-confused Merlin is stopped by his friend. "In here," she says, gesturing to a door. She knocks. "Arthur, Arden! Come out, there's someone I'd like you to meet!"

Upon hearing the name, Merlin flinched. It couldn't be, could it? No, he thought, no way. There must be a perfectly fine explanation for that name to be used without even a second thought.

And suddenly, the door opened. Two light tan-skinned young toddlers emerged, looking up at the queen. One a boy, one a girl. Both had dark hair, the girl's black and wavy, the boy's lighter and straighter. Even though they were twins the boy seemed to resemble Arthur much more then the girl did. The girl had a darker skin tone than her brother, and brown eyes in comparison to his blue ones.

A smile spread open on Merlin's face. "Are they-?" was all he was able to say.

"They're mine," Gwen explained, a smile on her face too. She looked down at the young boy, placing a caring hand on his head, playing with a soft wave in his hair, she then back up at her friend. "This one's named after his father."

Merlin already knew, just by looking. He saw Arthur in every inch of them, from the girl's bright eyes to the young boy's posture. There was no denying, these were truly Arthur's kids.

"May I?" Merlin asked his queen.

"Sure."

He knelt down to see the twins at eye level.

"Arthur, Arden, do you know who this is?" Gwen asked in a soft, motherly voice.

The children remained silent.

"I used to be a servant for your father," Merlin began. As soon as the words left his lips, there was a light sparked in the twins' eyes.

They both gasped. "Uncle Merlin!" they shouted, and ran up to hug him.

Merlin, surprised, was nearly toppled over by the sudden bodies. He looked up to see Gwen shaking, laughing into her hand.

"They-" Merlin stuttered. "They know my name. How do they-"

"I told them about the times before they were born," she explained. "The story of their father, and how they came to be. Of course it wouldn't be nearly complete without his faithful servant, Merlin."

Soon after, the twins started to fight, so they let go of Merlin and ran down the corridor. Gwen didn't stop them, but shouted for them to be careful as they played.

"They're beautiful," Merlin commented, looking after them. Then he looked back to Gwen. "How much do they know?" he asked, standing up.

"They don't know much," she responded. "They're so young. But I tell them stories sometimes to put them to sleep. Their father's great legacy, mostly. How we met, and our story."

Merlin smiled, remembering the times many years ago, watching the love of a prince and a serving girl blossom into the most magnificent love there ever was.

"And, of course, how you always helped us. With your magic, you know."

Merlin's heart stopped at the word. He searched Gwen's face for any signs of hostility, but found only the soft kindness of her usual demeanor.

"Yes," she explained, "I know about your magic." She paused. "At the battle, three years ago, there was an old sorcerer aiding Arthur from the hills. He was standing there, focused only on Arthur. I've never seen anyone so dedicated. Then after the battle, both Arthur and the old man disappeared. I had a feeling it was you, but I didn't know for sure. But Gaius helped, gave me a little hint."

Merlin chuckled, of course it was Gaius. "What did he say?" he asked, giving his legs a quick dust off.

"Well, as soon as I saw the old sorcerer, I knew something was strange if he was helping Arthur. I asked Gaius if he knew him, he said he did. And there was a strange familiarity in his eyes. So I asked him, well I asked if I knew him as well. He said I did. I put the pieces together fairly quickly."

"Is he still..." Merlin began, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.

"Yes, he is still here, and is still court physician... but he has been ill for a while now. Though I'm more than sure that a visit from you would help."

"I'm sorry I never told you about my magic before I left, I just needed to get away."

"It's alright Merlin, I understand why you left. We can talk more later over dinner perhaps, you must be hungry. But I think right now you should go and see Gaius, he could really use a visit from you."

Merlin walked quickly up the stairs, excited to be reunited with his old friend. When he opened the door he saw Gaius standing by a table, he coughed as he staggered to get a bottle from across the room. Merlin could see that he was still wearing his nightgown even though it was midday, and he still hadn't noticed Merlin standing in the doorway. "Still here then?" he called.

Gaius turned, shocked by the familiar voice.

"Merlin? You're home!"

Merlin walked up to him. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm home." He hugged his mentor.

"Where have you been, you look different. Older." This was true; Merlin had changed a bit over the few years, he stood taller with a bit more muscle, his eyes were deep and heavy, but still the magnificent light blue they had always been. Around his mouth was rougher and slightly grey, and his hair was longer and messier than usual. He wore his same jacket, blue top, and red neck scarf, but they seemed to have more stains of dirt and blood, and had a few loose ends around the bottom. He wore a big flowing hooded cape, it was the same red as the ones the knights wore, but it was bigger and didn't have the Camelot crest on it it. It had rips and mud all over the bottom. His trousers were a dark grey and his boots were the same as always. He had his old satchel bag, and in his hand he held the staff he had claimed when he defeated the Shees at the lake of Avalon after they tried to sacrifice Arthur.

How could he explain where he'd been? Where even had he been? "A bit of everywhere."

Gaius gestures to the old set of stairs at the end of the room. "You can have your old room back. Well. Unless you'd rather like somewhere else in the castle, now that you're not a servant anymore."

Merlin put a hand on Gaius's shoulder. "I'd love to have my old room back."

"Ok well you go and unpack and I'll get changed. I wasn't expecting company since Gwen hasn't been able to visit me as much because of the twins. You've seen the twins, haven't you?"

"Yeah, I've seen them. Beautiful kids." He hesitated. "They look like him."

"Yes," Gaius thought. "Yes they do."

Merlin headed up the familiar steep steps to his old room, not much had changed except it was tidier. The bed looked like it had barely been slept in, Gaius must have only slept in it when he had a patient stay in his quarters. There was a few boxes of old herbs and medicine scattered around the room. Merlin leaned his staff against the wall and placed his bag on his bed. He undid the buckles and slid out the old book of magic which took up most of the space in his bag. The sorcerer didn't need the book anymore, he had memorised and mastered every spell, and could do a lot of them without needing the incantation, but it never seemed he could give the old book up. Maybe it was because Gaius had given it to him when he first arrived in Camelot. Merlin had promised that he would study every word, and he had. He flicked through the book.

"Forbena" he whispered.

At once all the candles burst to life with tongues of fire. Merlin muttered another spell and they all went out. He loved the feeling of being back in his room, practicing small tricks. He took of his long cape, folded it up, and chucked it in the corner. After a while he headed back down to see Gaius dressed, and looking a lot brighter.

"I've left out a bucket of water for you. You could use a bath."

Merlin raised one eyebrow and gave a small smile. "Thanks?"

After he had freshened up, he sat down and told Gaius about the adventures and mishaps he had had over the years he had been away.