This story is a sequel to my previous story, "A Servant of None." If you haven't read it, you should before continuing.

WARNINGS: This story is rated M for a reason as it contains VIOLENT THEMES. If you are sensitive to anything, like torture, sexual assault, slavery…don't read.

Chapter 1: Stranger

The tension and excitement of the past week had finally started to settle down. War had been avoided and the daily duties of running a kingdom had fallen back onto Arthur's shoulders. It was difficult for Arthur to stay focused despite their victory, because it had come with a great loss. While Arthur was better prepared, emotionally, to deal with Merlin's "death" this time around, it was still painful. It did not help that he couldn't walk anywhere in the castle without one of the knights or council members apologizing to him for doubting him or telling him how pleased they were he was feeling better; a constant reminder of the drama and chaos Merlin had created.

After encountering more of the same this morning, he had decided to hide out for a while, before the afternoon council meeting. As much as he was trying to go about acting like things were back to normal, he couldn't let his guard down. Morgana was still out there. After they had avoided the battle, Arthur had dispatched a small patrol, led by Gwaine, to her hovel to take her into custody. However when they arrived, she was gone. The next morning he had gone down to the dungeons to confront his uncle and interrogate him about Morgana's whereabouts, only to find him gone as well. The guard was unconscious, and the cell while still locked, was empty. They had sent patrols back to Morgana's hovel, but could not pick up a trail.

A sense of foreboding had followed Arthur ever since, and he found himself filled with longing, once again. "Merlin. I wish you were here." He said softly.

***** IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS

As the meeting was drawing to close, Arthur became restless. The subject matter of discussion early on had been pretty standard, everyday issues to deal with. When it came to an update about the real threat however, no information had yet surfaced about Morgana or Agravaine's whereabouts. The council had exhausted all avenues they could think of, used every resource, and still had no information. While the lack of her presence currently meant a little bit of peace for the kingdom, Arthur knew that eventually she would be back, and he had no idea how to fight her. Knowing now that any victory they had had, when confronting magic, the last few years was due to Merlin's assistance, Arthur couldn't shake a deep fear that when Morgana regrouped and decided to attack again, they would be defenseless.

Arthur dismissed the council, and people were starting to gather their various documents, when the heavy chamber doors suddenly swung open seemingly of their own accord. Everyone stopped and stared at the figure that stood in the doorway, causing them to freeze in their tracks. Despite the fact that the man was not very large, his presence was intimidating as he was clothed in black from head to toe.

Black leather riding gloves met the sleeves of a black tunic which "V"d at the neck, and was laced together by cording. It flowed down his torso, tucked into loose fitting black leather trousers, held by a thick black belt with bronze studs. As he moved into the room with confident strides, it wasn't his clothes, or the sound of his black boots against the stone floor that chilled Arthur to his core, it was the black hooded cloak, fastened around the strangers' neck, which hid his face. Recent events had left Arthur with a dislike for hoods, as it triggered not so pleasant memories. The long cape draped off his shoulders and billowed behind him as he continued forward. There was a straight path to Arthur through the crowd, and the figure made it halfway before two knights moved to block his progression.

He didn't break stride as he raised his hands and moved them in a manner as if pushing through thick brush in the forest. The two knights stumbled backwards a few steps, as the man passed them.

'Sorcery.' Arthur thought with fear and disdain. Although he had accepted Merlin and what he had been, he had yet to truly make up his mind about magic. Merlin had told him he would need it to defeat Morgana, but he had been avoiding discussing the matter in council and making a decision. Now a sorcerer was striding into his castle and Arthur had no means to defend himself or his kingdom against such a threat.

He and the other knights took a stance, ready for a fight. But after two more strides the stranger suddenly dropped down to one knee, head bowed before the king.

"My Lord." His voice gave Arthur pause. It was deep and raspy, yet familiar. He looked at his knights who were staring at him, waiting, ready to move if the King commanded. He shook his head and signaled for them to stand down, which they did hesitantly, keeping a wary eye on the stranger.

"Who are you and what is your business here?" Arthur demanded.

"I bring news of Morgana, My Lord." He said, still looking at the ground.

Arthur's eyes lit up. 'Finally,' he thought. "Well let's hear it then." He knew he was being rash, that he should be more cautious. He didn't know anything about the sorcerer in front of him, but given the fact that he hadn't attacked and tried to kill anyone yet, he was willing to listen. It was really the only thing Arthur reasoned he could do. If he tried to arrest him, Arthur knew it would not go well, for them.

"I'm sorry, my lord. I would only risk this information for the King's ear alone."

"Yes, of course," Arthur agreed, eager for any information about Morgana. He looked up and addressed the room. "You are all dismissed, thank you." There were murmurs as the council members continued to gather their things and file out of the hall. The knights however, were not so swift to exit the hall.

"Sire," Sir Leon voiced from Arthur's right. "You cannot honestly expect us to leave you alone with this, this sorcerer?" He stood with his hand on his sword, addressing the King, but not taking his eyes off the stranger.

"You have your orders..." Arthur started, but was interrupted by the stranger.

"No, my King. Your knight is quite right. If it will ease the minds of all, I will permit some to stay." Leon inwardly balked at the audacity of the man's words. "If there are those that you trust, whole heartedly, without doubt. They may remain."

Arthur looked around and met the eyes of Leon, Gwaine, Percival and Elyan, each nodding agreement in response to their king and each other.

"Right then," Arthur said. "The four of you know who you are, everyone else is dismissed." As the small crowd began to file out of the hall, Arthur caught a glimpse of Gaius and called out. "Gaius! Please stay as well." As Gaius got closer Arthur said more quietly, "I will need your counsel in this matter." The seconds it took to clear the hall could have been hours for Arthur, as he was anxious to hear the news.

The knights stood tense as they watched the last guard leave the room and close the doors. The stranger hadn't moved from his position on the floor, staying still as a statue.

At the large thud of the doors being shut, he stood up and removed his hood.

Arthur never really was much of a thinker. It wasn't a widely known fact, but he was driven more often than not, by his heart, his emotions and his gut.

And that held true for this moment, that he, the knights and Gaius stood staring at the smiling face of Merlin. Something in the back of Arthur's mind screamed a warning, but his heart didn't listen. The joy and relief he felt outweighed the nagging doubt and fear and he moved forward towards the spirit of his old friend.

"You stayed!" Arthur exclaimed. He knew Merlin had had doubts about hanging around as a spirit, and in truth, so had he, until the day after Merlin had said good-bye. Arthur had regretted not fighting harder to convince him to stay longer, before going back to the spirit world.

"Well," Merlin chuckled, "not exactly." Merlin moved towards Arthur, pulling his gloves off, the gap closing quickly between the two men.

The knights moved forward, but not out of joy or relief. Despite their last encounter with the spirit, where he was free from Morgana and the evil thing in his mind, when it came to their King, they were always on guard.

Arthur paused at Merlin's comment. "What do you mean?" Arthur asked just as Merlin closed the distance between them.

Merlin tossed his gloves at his old friend. Arthur instinctively brought his hands together to catch the objects and was surprised as he felt the soft leather. He was momentarily dumbfounded and jumped when he felt a hand come down firmly, and grip his right shoulder.

His looked at the hand, dropped the gloves and grabbed the arm attached to the hand. He tried to speak but no words came out. It was solid; flesh and bone. His gaze followed the arm to the body and up to the face of the friend he had lost. Now that he was closer he could see the signs of life. While the skin was still pale, it, as well as the lips, had a pinkish tone to it, rather than the blue it had a few days ago. With his left hand, Arthur reached out to touch the grinning face.

"Merlin?" He almost choked on the name, emotion welling deep inside him. A part of him held back, afraid it wasn't real.

Merlin brought his hands out to the side. "In the flesh!" He bowed slightly.

"MERLIN!" Arthur shouted with delight and pulled the other man into a tight embrace, laughing, tears starting to well up.

Merlin was laughing as well and pulled away slightly, to look at his friend, but both men kept their arms locked together. For that moment, Arthur cared about nothing else. His hope and his joy drowning out the small voice of caution screaming in the back of his mind.

For a few seconds, nobody else moved, as they watched the reunion between Arthur and Merlin.

Joy. Fear. Relief. Doubt. The conflicting emotions held Gwaine in place. He longed to surge forward and join Arthur in embracing Merlin, however, his mind screamed warnings. 'Not right. Not right!' The image of the twisted spirit still fresh in his mind. But as he looked at the man in Arthur's arms he began to notice the difference, and realized that the man before them was not the spirit that had tormented them previously. Joy flooded into him. Then questions such as 'How?' and 'Why?' took over and fear and doubt rose again. All these emotions and thoughts played themselves out within a matter of seconds, and the knight did not know which emotion to respond to. He was vaguely aware of Arthur's happy laugh and the exclamations from Percival and Elyan as they too had moved in to test the apparition. Seeing them shaking hands with Merlin and laughing drew Gwaine towards them, hope building again in his heart.

He had taken two steps forwards when an arm across his chest nearly knocked the wind out of him. He looked incredulously at the offending arm, then at its owner. He was about to snap at Leon, when he saw the hard and concerned expression on his fellow knight's face. Leon's eyes shifted, and Gwaine followed his gaze across the room.

Standing very still, well back from the reunion was Gaius. His stance was stiff, and his hands were locked together in front of him. If the lack of excitement from the old man wasn't enough of a sign that something about this was very wrong, then his expression was. There was no joy, or relief or tears. His mouth set in a thin hard line, and furrowed brows sat over stern eyes.

The two knights moved slowly towards the old man and didn't notice when Merlin's gaze locked onto their movements. He broke free of the hands around him and putting on his best smile moved towards the old physician.

"Gaius!" He said joyfully, then stopped and allowed his smile to fade. "What's wrong?" His voice laced with concern.

All movement in the room ceased and Gaius was aware that all eyes were now focused on him. He looked at the concerned, bright, young face before him. Like Gwaine and Leon, emotions were conflicting within. He straightened up and questioned the man who looked like Merlin.

"I'm quite alright. It's just," he started, "I am confused Merlin. You specifically forbade me and Arthur from trying to find a way to bring you back because..." he faltered here, looking at the ground.

"Because of the cost." Merlin finished. Gaius met his eyes. "I know what you're thinking." He moved closer to the old man and put a hand on his shoulder. Gaius stiffened at the touch. "But I swear. I, didn't kill anyone."

"What do you mean you didn't kill anyone?" Gwaine blurted out.

Merlin turned around and looked at the group. "This is Morgana's doing." He said flatly. He turned back to Gaius. "Unlike us, she has no concern for life, and no qualms about employing all manner of dark magic to get her way."

"Gaius, what is he talking about?" Arthur asked, uncertainty in his voice.

The old man ignored Arthur, instead addressing his ward. "You're saying that Morgana performed the ritual to return you to the land of the living? Why would she do such a thing?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but I have an idea." He backed up so that he could see all of their faces before continuing his explanation. "Obviously the sleeping powder I doused her with the other night, wasn't as strong as I thought. When she realized that she had lost, she came up with a new plan. After I left you all the other night, just as I was getting ready to, to..." he paused, looking sad. "Um, well I suddenly found myself face to face with Morgana on the Isle of the blessed. She was chanting, and I could feel her dark magic, and suddenly breath hit my lungs and when I fell forward, I could feel the ground solid beneath me before I blacked out. When I came to I was chained up in some dark cave."

"I decided not to stick around and wait for Morgana to torture me, or place a spell on me, or whatever it was that she was planning." He turned to Arthur. "I was worried for you, all of you. So after I freed myself I headed straight for Camelot as fast as I could."

"Wait. How did you, break yourself out of chains?" Gwaine asked skeptically.

"I don't understand," Elyan interjected. "What could Morgana possibly hope to gain by bringing you back?"

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Gwaine interjected, stepping forward. "For all we know, you could be Morgana in disguise, trying to fool us!"

Merlin backed away from the onslaught, and confused and hurt glares, holding his hand out in front of him, in a placating gesture. He looked pleadingly at Arthur.

Momentarily Arthur dropped his eyes. Merlin saw the King take a deep breath. What he didn't notice right away was Leon, with his sword drawn moving to place himself between Arthur and Merlin.

"Whoa!" Merlin exclaimed. "Leon, there's no need for that. I'm not here to hurt anybody."

Arthur looked up at Merlin's words. He reached out and placed a hand on Leon's shoulder. "Leon." He said in a commanding tone. "It's alright. Everybody please calm down. We..."

"I'm sorry your highness," Leon interrupted. "But you are not thinking clearly." Keeping his sword pointed at Merlin, he looked back at his King. "Have you forgotten, my lord, that when he entered this chamber he used magic? He's nothing but a sorcerer trying to deceive you. Look at him!" He fixed his gaze on Merlin again. "Dressed like death himself."

Arthur focused on Merlin, standing there with his arms crossed. He shook his head slightly. When his eyes met Arthur's, there was amusement in them. Arthur did not find the situation funny.

Trying to bring the room back to order Arthur raised his voice. "Well, Merlin." He said loudly, stressing the name. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Everyone fell silent and looked at the darkly clothed man.

The humor vanished from Merlin's face. His posture slumped a little and he exchanged a familiar look of understanding with Arthur. He then turned towards the rest of the group.

"I know my attire is not quite what you are used to." He gestured at himself. "But I didn't exactly have access to my closet when I woke up in that cave." He smiled at Arthur, a mischievous but humorous, classically Merlin smile. Despite the tension and doubt in the room, it helped to calm the King's nerves. "Besides," he continued in a more jovial tone. "When you're dressed like this? Nobody bothers you. People see you coming and move to the other side of the road, and they especially don't want to make eye contact." He looked at Percival. "Now I know how it must feel to be you."

Percival laughed nervously, and Elyan smiled until a death glare from Leon shut them up.

"Fools!" He snarled. Arthur was taken aback by the vehemence in Leon's voice. He looked at his oldest knight in shock.

Leon was scared. Not for himself, but for his King, his friends and Camelot. He was face to face with a dark magic. He could feel it, but for some reason the others could not. Arthur was being lured in by grief. He didn't know how he could defeat a sorcerer powerful enough to pull off this kind of deception, but he was sure as hell going to try.

He faced the man, and pointed his sword at him. "Whoever you are, I've heard enough. You used magic, we all saw it. You can't talk your way out of that. Merlin was not a sorcerer."

The man had the gall to laugh at him, and what made it worse was how much he looked like Merlin when he did it. He put his hand over a wide mouthed grin that caused his eyes to shrink to slits. He turned away from Leon and looked towards Gaius. Leon decided to take advantage of the exposed back and moved in, swinging his sword over his head.

"Merlin look out!" Arthur yelled, and Merlin turned quickly to face Leon.

Leon was determined to end this; he wasn't even fazed when he saw Merlin's eyes flash gold. What did startle him though was when his sword stopped in midair a little more than a hand's length from the sorcerer's face.

The others in the room gasped as Merlin calmly stepped to the side, and the sword continued on its trajectory, the unexpected motion throwing Leon on the ground. Merlin quickly moved over to stand behind Arthur, who had already moved forward when he saw Leon move to attack.

Gwaine, Percival and Elyan ran towards Leon and helped him up. Anger burned in their eyes. Arthur raised his hands. "Okay everyone. Like I said, if everyone will just calm down. We can explain."

"Explain what?" Gwaine said. "Did you not see what just happened?" Gwaine paused.

"Yes. Look I know it's a bit of a shock. It wasn't easy for me either when I first found out."

The knights looked at him confused. "Found out what sire?" Elyan asked.

"That Merlin was" he paused and corrected himself, "is a sorcerer." Arthur noticed how all the knights exchanged looks, and he knew what it meant. "I'm not crazy, or under any spell. Gaius? Tell them."

All eyes turned to the old man standing quietly off to the side.

Gaius looked at the expectant faces of the young men in front of him. Skepticism and surprise on that of the knights; hopefulness on his King's; and lastly that of his former ward. His main focus was on the face of the young man that had been like a son to him. Gaius had expected Merlin's face to hold the same hopefulness and pleading as Arthur's, wanting Gaius to confirm the truth and validate his existence; however his expression was very very different.

It was not what Gaius would have expected, but was completely Merlin at the same time. In his posture and facial expression, there was a questioning look with a pinch of nervousness thrown in. Gaius knew the expression on Merlin's face was a mask; it was the eyes that gave away the truth. His bright blue eyes flashed with mischief, one born of knowing something that no one else in the room did. It was a look Gaius had seen many times before on the boy. It was the face that he had developed over the years, when he had to pretend that he knew nothing about what was going on.

Gaius couldn't help but wonder at it. Right in front of him was a possibility he had dared not hope for, that the boy was there and returned to him. He had managed to survive many things over the years, against all odds. He was powerful, and prophesied to do great things. Gaius tried to rationalize the reality in his head. Other than the attire, the boy in front of him was familiar in every way, and very different from the ghostly being that they had encountered days before.

He straightened up and addressed the group. "Merlin was, is..." he corrected himself, "indeed a sorcerer." He could see the internal struggle on the faces of the knights. "I have known this from the day he arrived in Camelot. I..."

"I saved his life the first day we met." Merlin spoke up, moving from behind Arthur and slightly towards Gaius. A slightly embarrassed look came over his face, and he scratched at his forehead near his hairline, tilting his head slightly, looking at the ground. "Actually it was my fault in the first place." Gaius noticed the familiar gesture. "You see, the first time I entered his chambers he was organizing supplies in the mezzanine, and I startled him, causing him to fall." He looked at Gaius. "I used my magic to quickly move his bed to catch him."

"Is that true Gaius?" Leon asked cautiously, his eyes never leaving Merlin.

"Yes. That was Merlin's first day in Camelot. I had suspected that he used magic in order to do it, and I tested him later, to be sure."

"Gaius has been keeping my secret all these years." The knights were a mix of relief, disbelief, confusion and anger.

"Honestly Gwaine," Merlin appealed to his closest friend in the group of knights. "How do think I have managed to survive everything that we have been through the last few years, riding out with all of you, unarmed and without armor?" A look of annoyance came over Merlin's face. "Well that is until recently."

Leon looked to Arthur. "You knew about this then?" He began hesitantly. "Despite Camelot's laws and..." Arthur held up his hand cutting the knight off.

"I only found out last week, the day before Merlin and I called that meeting with all of you."

Gwaine and Elyan shivered at the memory, Leon made a face.

"Merlin was right. We can't possibly hope to defeat Morgana, without the help of magic. She is too powerful." He used his royal authority voice. "It is time to put prejudices aside, and focus on protecting this kingdom," he looked sideways at Merlin, "by any means possible."

Merlin chimed in quickly to keep them from thinking too long on it. "Look, I regret what happened last week when I was under Morgana's control, but I'm free of her now." He looked at them pleadingly. "Please, give me a chance to prove myself to you. Ask me anything."

And so they did. In the end, Merlin had answered all their questions, and even managed to shed some light on things that hadn't made sense in the past.

Eventually Percival was the first to give in, and embraced him. "Glad to have you back."

Elyan grasped his forearm, and echoed the sentiment. Leon simply nodded in Merlin's direction, having never really had that type of relationship with his King's manservant.

He wasn't surprised at Leon's reaction. He could feel the distrust still lingering. Unlike the other knights, Leon had grown up in Camelot, with a lifetime distrust of magic. He had convinced them, that he was in fact Merlin, but getting them to trust him one hundred percent, he didn't really care about. They would eventually, whether they wanted to or not.

The sorcerer's eyes rested on Gwaine. He was quietly studying the dark clad figure. He had always suspected that there was more to Merlin than simply a king's manservant, but he never would have guessed sorcery. He wanted to believe it, to trust his friend. Gaius and the King seemed convinced, but Gwaine was wary. He would play along for now, but he would not let down his guard.

"So next time we run into Morgana I guess I'll have to thank her for bringing my friend back." Gwaine playfully and slapped a hand on his shoulder.

Merlin's expression softened and he grasped Gwaine's arm. "It's good to be back, really back this time."