A/N: Yeah, I'm delving into Merlin fic. I had to, it's just such a great fandom! Beta'd by soupyfirefly


"You what!?"

Merlin flinched under the force of his mother's glare and clutched Will a little tighter to his chest.

"I'm sure it's reversible," Merlin protested, trying to use his friend as a shield. The little black dog in his arms growled at him and nipped his fingers.

"What were you doing reading Gaius's books?" Hunith gently took Will out of Merlin's arms and placed him on the kitchen table. Will started sniffing towards her lunch and she batted him away, threatening to put him on a leash.

"I was just trying to give him a haircut!" Merlin protested.

Hunith shook her head. "How many times has Gaius told you not to use your magic for frivolous things?"

"It wasn't frivolous, Mum. He had a date!"

"Yes, he's quite ready for that now, isn't he?" Hunith replied, saving her lunch from Will before wrapping it up and placing it in the fridge.

"Where're you going?" Merlin asked as his mother put on her coat in an oddly calm manner.

"I'm going to the shop so Gaius can come home and turn Will back to his rightful species. You can explain to him why your best friend is able to lick himself so… vigorously."

"Will!" Merlin snapped, "Don't do that!"

"You'll be grounded for the rest of the month," Hunith called over her shoulder as she left their small house.

"Last time I do a favour for you," Merlin snapped at the little black dog before hurriedly taking him off the table. "Stop that! We have to eat there, you know!"

Will snapped at his ankles and glared at him before turning and trotting up the stairs to Merlin's bedroom. Merlin followed, not really trusting Will alone in his room. After all, he didn't know if Will was housetrained.

He found Will clawing his way onto his desk chair.

"If you tear up any of my things you're replacing them," Merlin warned. Will ignored him and nosed at the open book on the desk. Merlin glanced at the spell book before shaking his head.

"Oh, no; I am in enough trouble as it is. We're waiting until Gaius gets back."

Will whined and nudged the page again. When Merlin didn't move, he raised one leg threateningly.

"Fine!" Merlin quickly picked up Gaius's book and flipped through the pages, pausing over a promising spell.

"It says it's a spell for 'Getting onto the true path', whatever that means," Merlin announced before reading the description aloud for Will. "For those who are on the wrong path, in the wrong form, or in the wrong world. Become what you were meant to be."

Will barked encouragingly, wagging his tail.

"Looks simple enough," Merlin murmured. It didn't need anything save for a few words. He opened his mouth and began to speak aloud, feeling his magic eagerly dancing out. It wrapped around Merlin and reached out to Will before spreading through the entire house. Merlin's eyebrows shot up as the house gave a lurch, throwing him backwards onto his bed. Will barked in alarm, his paws scrambling to hold onto the chair. Merlin dove forward and caught him as he fell, and they both huddled in the middle of the room, staring at Merlin's window in shock. Wild gusts of winds ripped past, and Merlin shakily stood up and walked over to the pane, glad that it was mouth dropped open as he realised the house was being lifted up, the ground disappearing beneath them.

"I conjured a tornado," Merlin stammered before groaning. "My mum is going to kill me."

Will nodded, still staring out the window.

"Maybe I should try something else, or-" Merlin was cut off as the wind suddenly stopped and the house dropped, hurtling down towards the ground.

"Shit!" Merlin cursed and dumped Will onto the bed, trying to conjure up enough magic to catch the house. Will let out a howl and burrowed under Merlin's covers just as the building slammed into the ground, knocking Merlin to the floor.

"Will?" Merlin asked as soon as he realized the house hadn't smashed to pieces around them. His friend responded by whimpering and poking the tip of his nose over the corner of the bed.

"Let's check the damage," Merlin said as soon as he was able to stand. Will seemed reluctant to leave the relative safety of Merlin's bed so he picked him up and settled him into his arms. They walked carefully through the house, Merlin marveling at the lack of damage. A few books and papers had fallen to the floor, but nothing was broken.

"Might as well clean up before Mum gets back," Merlin shakily breathed a sigh of relief as he put Will down. "She'll never even know we were gone."

He bent down to pick up Hunith's favorite cookbook when Will began sniffing the air.

"What?" Merlin asked, looking at his friend with concern. "Is it Gaius? Oh dear god, do not tell me he saw that whole thing."

Will barked and ran to the front door and began to scratch at it.

Merlin smirked. "Oh, have to go to the bathroom do we? Well, I'll just let you outside then. Try to go in McGuff's yard, remember the time he-"

Their quiet little street was not on the other side of the door. Instead, several men dressed in full armour stood at the door, swords out.

"Erm," Merlin raised his arms in surrender. "Hello?"

One of the men stepped forward. "We are the Knights of Albion. Who are you?"

"Er, Merlin," he blurted out before glancing down at the black dog currently growling at the knights. "And that's Will."

"Are you a warlock?" the knight asked, stepping closer.

"No," Merlin replied almost too quickly. He wasn't, technically. He was only learning magic, and even then he'd be a wizard. Not a warlock. As it were.

"Then welcome!" the knight flipped up his visor and Merlin was treated to warm, sparkling eyes and a handsome face. If he hadn't just turned his friend into a dog and survived his house being sucked into a tornado, Merlin would have swooned.

"Ah, welcome to where exactly?" Merlin asked as the other knights lowered their swords and bowed to him.

"Ealdor!" the knight replied, bowing himself. "I am Lancelot."

"Hello." Merlin cautiously stepped out of his house and looked around. He seemed to be in a quaint little village. Behind the knights, excited looking villagers were pouring into the square. "Sorry, where exactly is Ealdor?"

"The east end of the Yellow Brick Road, of course." Lancelot beamed at him again. "We cannot thank you enough!"

"Thank me for what?" Merlin asked, confused. Dropping a house into the middle of a town would've resulted in at least a fine back home.

"You have slain the Wicked Witch of the East," Lancelot explained. He pointed to the side of the house, where Merlin was horrified to see the head of a young blonde girl sticking out from underneath the sidings.

"Oh my god!" Merlin shrieked, blood draining from his face. "I didn't mean to, I swear!"

"Sophia's imposed reign is over and the Knights of Albion are freed from her servitude!" Lancelot announced to the cheering crowd.

"I-" Merlin swallowed thickly as a dark shadow swept across the square. He looked up to see a dragon speeding towards them, dipping lower and lower in the sky.

"Halt," Lancelot called to the other knights as they reached for their swords. "That is the good Dragon. He lives in Camelot, with King Uther."

"Oh shit," Merlin hissed as the Dragon landed in the middle of the square, folding in its wings before it could damage any of the houses.

"Merlin Emrys," the Dragon said, inclining his head towards the house. "You have defeated the Wicked Witch of the East, well done."

"It was a bit of an accident, really," Merlin stammered. "I didn't mean to kill anyone."

"No?" the Dragon asked before his eyes fell on Will. Worried that the dragon would think Will was a snack, Merlin quickly took the little black dog into his arms.

The Dragon chuckled, sounding like rocks falling. "I will not harm your friend, young Emrys."

"Right, great." Merlin nodded far too rapidly. "So… do you know how I can get back to England, then?"

"I do not have the power for that, Merlin," the Dragon said, his gaze sliding to the knights for a moment. "Only the King of Albion is allowed to use magic."

"Then I need to go see him?" Merlin asked doubtfully, putting Will down as he began to squirm.

"Yes, you must. But you will need some help, I think." The Dragon nodded at Sophia's body. "Take her ruby hat."

"Her ruby…" Merlin trailed off, looking at the red feathered monstrosity lying on the ground. He had assumed he had squashed a bird that had been standing next to her. "Do I really have to wear that?"

The Dragon nodded.

"But," Merlin spluttered, picking the hat up. "Most of it isn't even ruby, it's just a black hat with feathers!"

"Observe the band," the Dragon replied calmly. Merlin brushed aside the feathers and saw red glittering cloth wrapped around the hat.

"I need the cloth, right?" Merlin asked. The Dragon nodded again.

"I can do that," Merlin said, and carefully removed the material from the hat. After tossing the offensive headgear aside, he wrapped the red fabric around his neck, trying it like a bandana. "See? Much better."

"You are now ready for your journey," the Dragon announced before turning around. Merlin ducked his tail as it went whistling by his face and looked past him. He could see a yellow road running out of Albion and into the country side. "You must travel the Yellow Brick Road. On the other side is Camelot, where King Uther can grant you the power to return home."

"Do you think he'll let me take the house back with me?" Merlin asked. "My mum and my uncle will kill me if I don't bring it back."

The Dragon opened his mouth to reply as lightning hit the center of the square, sending sparks everywhere and blinding Merlin with light. When he could see again, he saw a beautiful woman with pale skin and dark hair standing in the middle of the village, sneering at everything around her.

"Nimueh," Lancelot whispered to Merlin, drawing his sword. "She is the Wicked Witch of the West. She killed the King's family."

"His family?" Merlin repeated, as the woman turned to look at the Dragon.

"First his wife, then his son and his ward."

"I came to visit my dear Sophia," Nimueh announced to the town, keeping her eyes locked with the Dragon's. "Where might I find her?"

"Here," the Dragon replied, moving aside. "Not much for a burial, I'm afraid."

Nimueh's face darkened. "Must all of my friends be killed?"

"Uther did not kill her. Neither did I," the Dragon added, when Nimueh opened her mouth again.

"Then who?" she spat, scanning the crowd. Her eyes landed on Merlin's face before settling on the fabric round his throat.

"Is that from Sophia's hat?" Nimueh demanded. "That belongs to me!"

"It no more belongs to you than it did to her," the Dragon said. "Leave, Nimueh. You have no power here."

"Don't I?" she asked before raising her arms. The Dragon's head snapped forward and let fire erupt all over Nimueh, her body disappearing in the flames. The villagers gasped as the fire ebbed and Nimueh remained where she stood, unharmed.

"Fine," she hissed before turning to Merlin. "But I will get you."

Will barked from beside Merlin's feet.

Nimueh smirked. "And your little dog too." She threw up her hands and disappeared in another bolt of lightening, leaving the square silent.

"Come, Merlin," the Dragon said calmly, as if nothing had happened. "You have a long journey ahead of you. You walk not only the Yellow Brick Road, but also the path to your destiny."

"Destiny?" Merlin asked quickly. Even Will's ears perked up, thinking of the spell.

"You are but one side of a coin, young Emrys. You must find your other half."

"Right," Merlin glanced doubtfully at the Dragon as he led him to the start of the Yellow Brick Road. "I'll work on that."

"We will meet again," the Dragon promised before launching himself into the sky. The villagers waved as he left as Lancelot came to stand beside Merlin.

"Simply follow the Yellow Brick Road," the knight explained. "There are no turns between here and Camelot."

"Thanks, mate," Merlin replied, shaking Lancelot's hand before glancing back at the house. "And keep the house safe, yeah? My mum really will kill me."

Lancelot nodded and laughed, and Merlin found himself surrounded by villagers. They thanked him and pressed a basket into his hand filled with food before they pushed him to the start of the road and sent him off.

"Well," Merlin said to Will as he trotted alongside him. "This certainly has been an interesting day. I don't think I'm going to get you back in time for your date."

Will glared back up at him, and it wasn't long before he forced Merlin to carry him in the basket.

Merlin sighed. "This is going to be a long walk."