Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing but the plot line.

So, my second fanfic ever! I planned this to be a one shot, but in the end it was a bit longer than I predicted so it turned out like this.

Nothing much happens in the first part, sorry, but hopefully the other ones will be more interesting.

Enjoy!

As soon as Merlin woke up, he knew it was going to be a long, long day. He could already see the first rays of sun perking through his window and since Arthur had specifically insisted to be woken at dawn the day before, he knew he was in for a scolding which would no doubt involve insults, a few things thrown his way and one or two threats of being sent to the stocks. He got dressed as quickly as he could, as quietly as he could so as not to wake Gaius up and ran down the stairs towards the kitchen. He grabbed the King's breakfast, not bothering to take anything for himself since there was no way he would have the time to eat it and, still running, he made his way to the King chambers. Without posing to catch his breath, he entered the room. The curtains were still closed and, in his haste to get to the table to put the tray he was holding down, he tripped on some clothe that he had forgotten to put away the night before. Muttering curses under his breath, he put the food on the table and went to open the curtains.

"Rise and shine!" he exclaimed loudly.

A groan was the only answer he got, as Arthur simply rolled on his side to avoid the sudden brightness of the room

"Go away." he muttered sleepily.

"I don't think so, Arthur, we have a busy day ahead of us. You know, something to do with a crystal, sorcery and Morgana's latest plan to bother us all?"

Now wide awake, Arthur jerked out of bed and almost fell on his face in his hurry to get up. The scene was hilarious and under any other circumstances, Merlin would have had no problem laughing and maybe teasing Arthur a bit about his clumsiness but as it was, he knew he was in enough trouble not to try to make matters worse so he wisely kept his amusement to himself (as hard as it was) and waited for the lazy prat to come to his senses.

"It's morning" Arthur pointed out blankly.

"Woah sire, your observation skills are impressive" (okay so it was not the most intelligent thing to do but he couldn't help tease the King at least a little and he had asked for it anyway).

"What, in the name of God, do you not understand in the phrase "wake me up before dawn"?! You idiot!" he shouted.

And as Merlin predicted, he got shouted at (even more so when he pointed out that Arthur was loosing even more time shouting at him), thrown things at (making sure there was nothing sharp next to the bed proved to be an excellent decision), threatened and by the time Arthur had decided that he had insulted Merlin enough, finished getting prepared and gotten into the courtyard, they were at least an hour late, a fact that earned Merlin a dark look from one seriously pissed off King.

The knights all looked at him with something between pity and clear amusement, but they said nothing. They didn't want to experience the King's wrath for themselves, as amusing as it was to see Merlin get picked on.

And so finally, they were all ready and they left without any more delay. They were heading north, towards the cave of Eridan. Word had reached Camelot that the witch Morgana was looking for a jewel which had incredible magical powers. They had discussed about what should be done to prevent her from getting her hands on it, and possibly causing some kind of mischief with it, and, after many arguments and despite the risks of it being a clever trap, Arthur had decided to go after it anyway, in the hope of getting his hands on it before she did. Gaius had told them that the legend surrounding the jewel spoke of those caves where a powerful sorcerer had hidden it many years before, however he had not been able to tell them exactly what was the jewel supposed to do. Their only hope was that Morgana had not the knowledge Gaius possessed and that she still didn't know where to find what she was seeking. And so they had all left at dawn (well almost) so that they could reach the place before nightfall. No one had been told where they were going, nor why, to make sure that she would not come after them.

All in all their trip was peaceful. They encountered a few bandits (then again, when have they not encountered a few bandits passing through the forests surrounding Camelot?) but they were dealt with quickly. Actually Merlin didn't even had to use his powers to take down anyone (that, on the other hand, was more surprising). And that's precisely why he was becoming more and more stressed. There was no way things could go that well.

However, everything seemed to indicate he was worrying for nothing. They arrived unarmed in front of the cave of Eridan and, as it was already dark, Arthur said they would camp in a clearing not far from the entrance of the cave and that they would search it the following day.

"Arthur, I'm not sure it's a good idea to camp there. We are just outside the cave where that stone is hidden and we don't even know what it does. Maybe we should...

-Don't be such a girl, Merlin! I can't believe it, honestly, how can you be so easily scared?!"

Merlin gave him an exasperated look which Arthur simply ignored.

"Why don't you make yourself useful, for once in a while? Go gather some wood for the fire and then make sure the horses are looked after"

Still exasperated, Merlin opened his mouth to retort something, but Arthur cut him:

"And before you add anything else, need I remind you that you are the reason we arrived too late here to search the cave immediately"

Sighing dejectedly, Merlin made his way towards the trees to get started on his chores.

Merlin... woken with a start, Merlin looked around to see who had called him. But there was no one there. The knights were all sleeping, save for Percival, who was on guard duty. All was quiet. Merlin... Again that voice could be heard. Standing, he stealthily made his way towards the trees. The only people he knew who called him that way were the druids (well, them and Kilgarrah, but he didn't think it was the great Dragon, he would have recognised his voice anywhere) when they wanted to give him some kind of warning and he didn't think it would be a good idea to let the knights know about it. Just as he reached the first trees, the voice sounded again, pressing :Merlin, Merlin, MERLIN! Unable to resist it, he headed towards the source of the voice. Dazzled, he didn't notice that the voice had called him Merlin and not Emrys as the druids did, nor did he realised he was heading towards the cave of Eridan. He didn't care about stealth or danger any more. The only though his mind processed was that he needed to get to that voice as fast as possible. It echoed in his head, in his whole body, urging him to go faster and suddenly he was in front of a crystal. It was strangely shaped. One side of it was dark red and it looked rough with sharp angles. The other side was clear blue, soft and smooth. He stayed there, unmoving, completely enchanted by the crystal for the longest time. His world was reduced to that stone and nothing, not the way his magic shifted in him as a warning, not the worried voices of the knights who had been woken by Percival when he noticed Merlin's absence, nothing could distract him from his trance. Merlin, Merlin, Merlin... the voice sounded again. He reached for the crystal and touched the red part of it.

Arthur was dreaming of Gwen. They were both in his chambers, dinning together. She was laughing at something he said and, as usual, he couldn't keep his eyes off her. Suddenly, something a lot less charming than Guineviere's laugh invaded his mind:

"Sire!" The voice of Sir Leon cut through his dream. Now awake, he looked darkly at Leon:

"This has better be good.

-Merlin has disappeared, Sire.

-What?! You're sure he didn't just went to take a stroll or something?"

Seeing the look on his knight face, he cursed and got up. What had this idiot gotten himself into this time?

They searched for him around the camp but he was nowhere to be found. And suddenly, an idea came to his mind:

"The cave!"

They ran toward it. Arthur was the first to enter, his knights not far behind him. And there Merlin was, standing in front of a strange stone -probably the one they were looking for.

"Merlin, you idiot! When I said it could wait till morning, I meant it. Seriously what's wrong with you and the time of the day? First you understand dawn as 'two hours after sunrise' and now..." He trailed off. Something was wrong. First Merlin had yet to look at him and second, he hadn't immediately started protesting that he hadn't been that late this morning or something of the sort. It was as if he hadn't even heard him. He moved to the left, to get a better view of his servant's face, and what he saw made a shiver ran down his spine.

"Merlin!" He called, not even bothering to hide the fear and concern that had crept into his voice.

"Merlin take a step back, that's an order! Merlin!" But he didn't react at all. He was still staring at the stone, mesmerised, and his eyes were still unfocused, as if he was not really there.

He went to grab him, to take him away from that jewel even if he had to force him but, just as he was about to touch him, Merlin reached for the crystal and touched it. As soon as his skin made contact with the stone, he started shouting and his back arched as if he had been struck by lightening. His hand seemed to be sticked to the stone for even when he started shaking violently he didn't let go of it. Arthur could only watch in horror as his friend screamed in pain. He had never felt so helpless in his entire life. After what seemed like an eternity, Merlin's cries ran down and he fell slowly to the ground. Arthur caught him in time to avoid him banging his head on the hard floor. Gently, he lied him down and Gwaine used his mantle to make a pillow for him.

"Thanks.

-Don't mention it"

They looked at each other, worried, and completely at a loss for what to do. Next to them, the stone was glistening ominously.

The first thing he heard when he woke up was the cracking of fire. He could feel its warmth on his face and he knew he was next to it. There was something soft under his head but he was clearly lying down on the ground. Apart from that, he had no idea where he was or how he got there. He opened his eyes, hoping to learn a bit more about his situation. However, before he had the chance to take a look around, he found himself surrounded by men. They were all dressed in the same fashion: chain mail, leather boots, red capes. And they were all looking at him with concern.

"Merlin?" The one who spoke had blond hair and blue eyes. He held himself with confidence and he seemed impassive but his tone held a hint of worry. Completely at a loss for what to do, he didn't answer.

"What possessed you to go alone in that cave to play with a magical stone which you knew was dangerous -you are the one who couldn't stop whining about it by the way. Would it have kill you to wait till morning? Answer me you idiot, it's not by staying there looking like the complete fool you are that you are going to be forgiven!" Maybe he shouldn't have been so harsh, Arthur though, but the idiot deserved it for making him -well to call a spade a spade worry- so much. However, instead of the witty comeback he expected, the answer he got made him feel like his stomach had dropped all the way down to his feet:

"I'm sorry but... Who are you?"

Alright, I warned you, nothing much happens. Consider that to be a prologue.

Leave a review to tell me what you thought about it. Criticism is welcome of course!