obviously theres spoilers

i do not own merlin

uhh time travel stuff

slight ooc

〜

Merlin passed the lake of avalon, scoffing. He had stopped waiting for Arthur since the second century of waiting, and honestly he was sick of everything having to do with The Arthurian Legends.

He sighed, taking a stroll down the pavement. He was running out of food and herbs, so he made a mental note to go get some on the way back home. He just needed some air first.

Even after everything, Merlin had stopped hoping for Arthur to come back. If only he had told Arthur earlier, maybe that would have helped. If only he told morgana about his powers, she wouldn't have gone evil. Regret often knocked on merlin's doors every five years or so, so why would this one be different?

Once merlin was done with his walk, he turned around and started to walk to the direction of his house. That was, until he dumped into someone. "Deepest apologies" Blurted Merlin, in a gruff voice.

The woman grinned softly and nodded, grabbing her bag from the ground before looking up to merlin. She gasped loudly, eyes widening. This gave Merlin a string of confusion. "You - you're - you . ." She muttered, shuttering softly.

Merlin raised an eyebrow, looking almost like gaius when he did something stupid or got curious. "My name is -"

"Emrys" That was all he heard before a bright light flashed in his eyes, making him stumble and fall. He made an 'oof' noise before falling down on his bum. There was light chatter close to him, as he tried to readjust his eyes.

'should've brought my damn glasses. .' He grumbled to himself, narrowing his eyes before standing up. There was shouting, loud shouting. Something about a sorcerer.

Merlin felt hands grab him by the shoulders, which made him gasp. He blinked, not seeing much due to the bright light the sun was giving. It wasn't long before head gained his eyesight that he noticed what seemed to be the halls of Arthur's palace. .

a loud bang made merlin flinch, he noticed that the door looked like the one that. . oh. Arthur was sitting on his throne, giving orders to a servant before turning his head to merlin and the men.

"Sire, we have brought the sorcerer that has killed your father" One of the guards said, shoving Merlin to the ground which made him grunt. "He has somehow transported himself in the square, sire"

Merlin turned his head up and looked around. It wasn't like any of the dreams before, no. It was real. Every detail is the same as before, to the walls to the people. Nostalgia hit him hard, so hard. He remembered the times where arthur would throw nearby objects at him because he was being idiotic, and the many times he helped the maids and servants clean the rooms despite being arthur's manservant.

Everything just hit him in the head with a baseball bat.

His eyes darted to a familiar old man he remembered clearly, the eyebrow raise that made you nervous and the robe. Gaius, the court physician. His mentor. The same old gaius.

The knights of the round table was beside and up forth Arthur, protecting him like the good old days. Their swords were raised in a way that Merlin saw as protecting their best friend.

And, there they were. Gwen, Arthur, and Merlin. Gwen was sitting next to arthur with a worried look on her face while Arthur glared at Mer - Emrys. Merlin had his eyes widened, frozen from shock.

Emrys could only chuckle at his younger self's response, but nodded in respect to the king. "Sorcerer, name your business here" Arthur's voice was loud, and so very clear. It made Emrys gulp, but he nodded no less.

Emrys stared at Arthur's blue eyes, as if trying to solve a puzzle. As so did Arthur. "I do not know, Sire" He dropped his sarcasm and bowed, not able to keep himself from doing so.

"What do you mean, you 'don't know'?" He questioned, furrowing his eyebrows. Merlin's eyes dodged his older self's icy cold ones, and instead looked at Gaius who shrugged in response.

Emrys sighed at the king, standing up slowly to show that he won't harm anyone. "I mean, i do not know. One second i'm going back home, the other i'm here in camelot" He explained, rolling his eyes.

Gwen glanced at Arthur, seeing him troubled. "Who made you those clothes? They look similar" Emrys glanced down to see he still was wearing Gaius' robe he borrowed. Emrys had fixed it to look more modern, but it still looked recognizable.

Emrys frowned, turning his head to guinevere. "I made them myself, Queen Guinevere. Using old robes i had in my wardrobe" He answered, a smile forming on his face. To everyone, this smile was way too familiar. This smile was like seeing an old friend you haven't seen in years smile.

Emrys' smile turned into a frown after he finally put himself in a state of mind, finally. Magic was illegal in Camelot, and was punishable by death. Emrys sighed, closing his eyes.

"Sire, if i may, i would like to tell you about how old i truly am" He spoke, tilting his head to the ground. "I am far too ancient, and i would like my last moments in the place that gave me strength"

"And that is?"

"Camelot, Sire"

Arthur and Gwen glanced at each other, with alarming eyes. "Why Camelot?" Gwen spoke softly, tilting her head at the old man.

Emrys grinned slightly, trying to force it down. "Even though it has killed many of my kind, i have grown attached to it and the people inside it. I promised myself long ago that i wouldn't let it crumple, but that was far past my power"

"How old are you, Dragoon?"

"Emrys, Sire. My name is Emrys"

"Emrys."

"I am over a millennium. I am 1,517 years old, Sire"

Everyone in the room was agaped, including Merlin and Gaius. "That's impossible! You can't.." Arthur gestured to Emrys. "be over a millennium!" Arthur shouted.

"Well, i can. King Arthur, I am from the year 2019"