Merlin was laying in his bed with his head under his blanket whilst the light streamed in through his thin curtains. He didn't want to get up today and do his chores for Gaius, then do another set of chores for Arthur. The fact that Merlin used magic to do all of his work for him had made the prince think he was some kind of super servant and everyday Arthur would give him twice as much work as he had yesterday, just to see if he could finish it all and he did. Sometimes he wished he didn't then maybe Arthur wouldn't throw anything else onto his list of endless things to do. Merlin knew he would never do that because he loved seeing Arthur with that bemused yet slightly shocked look on his face when he had completed everything he assigned to him and as always he would then say "There's something about you Merlin". It made him laugh how close yet so far off from the mark he was.

A large bang came from his door interrupting Merlin's thoughts.

"Merlin, get up these remedies wont be delivered by there self!" Gaius shouted through the door.

"I'm... coming."Merlin groaned rolling over.

Slowly and regretfully he lifted his self from the comforts of his warm bed and began to get dressed.

****************

Far away in a dark cave a woman with long black hair and hateful eyes stared down upon a basin of clear liquid. She then uttered a spell and traced the water with her finger tips. The liquid rippled and an image of a young boy appeared on its surface. He was sitting down at a table eating laughing at something the older man had said.

"You may laugh now but mark my words Merlin, you will pay. I will get rid of you soon enough." Nimueh said with an evil smile.

"-by taking the person you care for the most." she said retrieving a blue potion from inside her cloak. She through back her head and drank the vile mixer in one gulp. Instantly her body began to change shape. Nimueh grew a few inches taller, her hair changed from the deep black to an intense red. Her face was now more defined and her lips were a cherry red.

"Now, no one will know who I am not even Merlin himself." she said laughing. It was odd for someone who looked so innocent to have such a hateful laugh.

"Soon enough Merlin will be gone and I can have my revenge on Camelot and king Uther" she said staring down at Merlin who was now outside making his way towards castle.

Nimueh moved her hand over the basin, the image of Merlin disappeared and was replaced with the reflection of her new face. A face that was familiar in Camelot as Morgana's second handmade.

****************

Merlin walked down a corridor with his head hidden behind a pile of clothes and armer that all needed cleaning and buffering. He remembered what Arthur had said to him when he handed over all of his dirty washing. " Try not to fall down this time, I don't need a servant thicker then he already is." Merlin huffed like he ever fell down. OK he did once in a while but that wasn't really his fought as he always seemed to be running from one problem to another. Merlin was so lost in his thoughts he wasn't looking where he was going and ended up bumping into a handmaiden. The armour in his arms flew up into the air and clattered to the floor. Merlin lost his footing and fell backwoods dragging the poor girl down with him. He fell onto his back with a loud thud, hitting his head in the process. The girl fell with him and landed on his chest. Merlin quickly gripped onto her in order to soften the blow for her and him.

"M-Merlin! Are you all right?" A familiar voice said, it was scared and slightly shocked.

Merlin gazed up at the girl and saw Gwen's worried face staring down at his.

"My head hurts slightly, ummm why am I down here?" he asked slightly confused.

" You collided with me and you sort of dragged me down with you." she said shyly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." he said, it was then that he realised how close he and Gwen were. He could feel her body pressing down on him and her breath on his face. Merlin's heart began to quicken and his face started to feel hot. He could see a flush creeping into Gwen's cheeks, he still had his hands wrapped around her waist. He quickly removed them and muttered an apology. She slowly got to her feet and began to pick up the fallen clothes. Merlin stood up to to help Gwen, there fingers brushed past each other as the both reached for the same item. Gwen smiled at him and gently moved her hand away.

"Hows your head?"Gwen asked braking the silence.

"Its fine, nothing I cant handle."Merlin said reassuringly.

Gwen was still worried and raised her hand to touch his head. She could feel a slight bump there but apart from that nothing else was wrong. The handmade realised what she was doing and quickly drew her hand away. Merlin wish she hadn't it felt nice. Ever since that kiss he had started to feel different around her. Arthur teased him saying that he is in love with her and Merlin continue to deny it. To say it out loud would mean it to be true.

" I best be going it was nice bumping into you, not that I liked being on top of you that is, I mean... it wasn't a bad thing either ummmm." Gwen stuttered trying to hide the blush that was now covering her cheeks.

"I need to be going to, bye Gwen. I'll see you later."Merlin said grinning boyishly.

"Bye Merlin." Gwen said slightly happy that she could escape before anything else sliped from her tongue.

Merlin watched her walk down the corridor before he picked up the rest of his things. Everything was now in a neat pile except for the armour. When he picked it up he realised there was a dent.

He sighed " I guess I'm going to be working extra hard to night"

Merlin picked up the bundle and walked off down the corridor and this time he watched where he was going.