Merlin let out a groan, his head a muddled fog that throbbed painfully against his skull as he began to come to his senses. The first thing he felt was the hard oak table against his cheek and the edge of it pushing a very uncomfortable amount against his chest. Second, was fuzzy strands sticking to his drool covered mouth and chin. Thirdly, and quite possibly the most painful thing yet, was a quick jab to his ribs with that felt like a blunt but small, rounded object that made him gasp and fall off the oak bench onto the cold, stone floor flat on his back. His eyes shot open, his body readying itself should he need to defend himself from another attack, when he noticed Gaius standing over him with a broom handle secured between his wrinkled old hands and staring at Merlin like he was some sort of alien life form. "Gaius it's me!" the voice that emitted from his throat, that spoke those very words were completely alien to him, in fact the voice that came out was undeniably female.
"Who are you? How did you get in here and why are you wearing Merlin's clothes? Merlin, Merlin!" he began to shout for the young warlock who was in fact situated in front of him on the floor looking absolutely dumbfounded as he reached up and touched his throat, his fingers met with strands of dark hair that cascaded over his shoulders and down his back judging by the length of it. "What in the world?" he questioned, grabbing a fistful of it in his hand to examine it, only his eyes were met with something much more worrisome. His chest was no longer that of a mans, but protruded outwards and became the resting spot for two small mounds that looked very much like breasts. Now he was really freaking out. "Oh no, oh no." he muttered as he scrambled to his feet, immediately going straight for the book of potions that lay among the mess of beakers and liquids and powders, his eyes scanning over every word when his eyes clenched shut and a hiss escaped his lips. "Leave it to me to confuse Feline with Female ." he said through clenched teeth before turning sharply towards Gaius.
The old man still held a steady defensive stance, only flinching slightly when the woman in front of him turned towards him with a look of frustration evident on her face. "Now look," Merlin began, face scrunching up as the higher pitch oh his voice reached his ears. "I made a grave mistake last night, Gaius, and I don't know how to fix it but believe me, I am Merlin." he said as calmly as he could as the old man scrutinized him for a few moments before the broom feel from his hands as his body shook with laughter. Leave it to Merlin to mess up this bad. "Gaius it's not funny!" he said as he watched the old man practically double over in his fit of giggles making even his stomach hurt just by watching him. When Gaius finally began to settle he took a seat on the bench and skimmed over the potion properties and incantations to determine how long the effects would last or whether the change was permanent.
"May I inquire as to why you were attempting to become a feline or is it better if I remain in the dark to your intentions?" he questioned, eyes never leaving the book as he flipped through the pages for some sort of reversal. Luckily the change wasn't permanent but it would last more than 24 hours and he was certain Merlin didn't want to remain that long as a woman. Even his mannerism seemed to change as his hands laid delicate yet firm on his hips as he looked at Gaius. "Arthur has been working me like a dog for the past couple of days and I needed a break, so I thought maybe I could turn him into a cat and just enjoy a day playing with him and letting him catch mice." Merlin said cause Gaius to eye the young warlock.
"Turning the prince into a cat is not only wrong, but immoral and dangerous. What would you do if we were attacked or all manner of hell broke loose?" he asked, giving a stern look to the diva standing before him. "Uh, duh," he said, his tone carrying a hefty mount of sass that the older one did not like one bit. "While Arthur has his cat nap all I have to do is snap my fingers," he snapped his fingers for effect, "and boom threat gone." Gaius groaned before standing up and heading towards one of the storage wardrobes, pulling out what looked to be a very old and musty smelling dress. "What in the world is that?" Merlin asked, scrutinizing the material and wear of the dress.
"I found a potion that can reverse this," Gaius began as he shoved the dress into his arms, his face telling Merlin that another word out of him and he could remain like that until it wore off itself. "Now you are a lady for the time being and I expect you to act like one." Merlin pulled a face once Gaius had turned his back before reluctantly going into his room and struggling with the multiple layers and ruffles that he seemed to drown in before emerging almost 45 minutes later. "Why in the world do you have a dress?" He questioned, finding it strange that Gaius would just randomly have a dress for no reason. Perhaps the old man was into some weirder stuff than he thought.
"It belonged to my late wife." was all he said as he aimlessly walked around, collecting beakers and bowls, powders, liquids and herbs. "Now this is going to take a while, I'm also missing some things so I'll need you to go find them." Gaius said as he handed him a piece of parchment that had about 3 things scribbled on it. He grabbed his satchel, his new hair nothing but a nuisance as he yanked it over the strap once he felt it being tugged, only accidentally pulling a little too hard and letting out a hiss of pain as he looked at the clump of hair that was now in his palm and spread between his fingers. "Good lord," Gaius mumbled before grabbing some string and tying his hair back for him.
"I'll be back in an hour or so,"he said looking over his shoulder as he reached for the door handle only for the door to swing open and smack him on the knee. "Ow, what in the bloody-" he began to curse in a low voice but his mouth quickly shut once he looked up and saw Arthur standing there. "Where the bloody hell is Merlin?" he asked looking at Gaius before his eyes met with Merlins, a stunned look coming over him as he took in the knelt over beauty who looked absolutely pissed. "Have you ever heard of knocking?" Merlin spat between clenched teeth as he straightened himself out. Gaius quickly moved towards the pair, intercepting before Merlin did anything too brash.
"Ah, Arthur this is Mer...Meranda, Merlin's younger sister." he said quickly, eyes now pleading with Merlin to go along with it once he noticed the boys wide eyes staring into him. "Meranda this is Arthur." he said and Merlin forced a smile before he did a poor version of what one might call a curtsy. "So you're the one who's been working my brother to the bone." he said through gritted teeth. This was one opportunity he just simply couldn't pass up.
A/N gonna do this in 2 parts...maybe 3