Summary: When a mysterious Light appears in Camelot, it seems to be living of people's energy. As it grows more powerful, extreme measures must be made to destroy it. Will Merlin be strong enough? Can Prince Arthur keep his people safe?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Merlin characters.

AN: Any and all mistakes are completely my own. This story takes place after season 2, but none of season 3 has happened here... Let's just assume this is a different way events could have happened.

The title ('One of those Days') comes from a song sung by Joshua Radin (one of my favorite artists). It means that it appears to be an ordinary day in Camelot when suddenly, a threat appears and Merlin and Arthur must face it. This threat is different, however, and if you want to know how different, then you'll have to read the story =)

Thank you for clicking on this story and reading this first chapter. I hope it is a good start and I hope that you'll leave me a comment, review or message.

Enjoy reading!

One of those Days – The Light

Chapter 1

It was the sound that had drawn Merlin close. A soft ringing that grew louder and louder as the young sorcerer got near, but nothing extraordinary could be seen, nothing that explained where the sound might be coming from. Merlin slowly walked through the halls of the castle, listening to the ringing and trying to determine what was causing it. He really should be getting to Arthur for work, but this sound was simply too strange to be ignored.

Turning into another hallway, Merlin came to a stop, his gaze caught by a large, bright, white light. It was floating in the air, sparkles within the cloudy substance and it seemed to have sensed Merlin was near. Its shape transformed, it grew and its soft ringing became louder as if it were pleased.

Before the young servant could do anything, the Light was before him and suddenly, Merlin was consumed, surrounded by nothing else but brightness. It was an absolutely spectacular view and Merlin felt himself strangely relax. It was beautiful, like a thousand stars were surrounding him. A dizziness got a hold of him, however, but the young sorcerer didn't mind. He could only think of its beauty, of the warmth that the Light held. His eyelids felt very heavy all of a sudden as if he was falling asleep right there where he stood.

And then it was gone.

Merlin took in a deep breath, feeling his arms and legs tremble. He tried to understand what had just happened when he noticed a girl sitting on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees and her head bowed forward. He couldn't recognize her at first, but then he saw that it was Gwen.

He would have rushed towards her if he had been able to. All that he could do, was take one step at a time and make sure that he wouldn't fall by losing his balance.

"Did you see it?" Gwen asked, her voice high. She turned her head to look at Merlin who could see dark circles underneath her eyes. She looked absolutely exhausted and that was exactly how Merlin felt himself.

"I saw it," Merlin told her. Only one thought filled his mind; magic. What else could that have been? The mere force that it possessed, told Merlin that it couldn't have been something harmless. Kneeling down besides Gwen, he was certain that she had been inside the Light as well now, there simply was no more doubt.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Gwen nodded, swallowing heavily as she obviously was trying to understand what had just happened.

"Where has it gone?" she quickly asked, glancing around to see anything out of the ordinary.

Merlin couldn't help but glance along. He certainly didn't want the Light to happen to him or Gwen again as the dizziness was only now starting to wear of. The exhaustion was still present, however, and Merlin silently longed for his bed.

"I..." Merlin turned to look behind him, wanting to make sure that the Light was gone, "I don't know."

Gwen nodded, seemingly relieved that it was gone. "We should tell the King," she told Merlin, sure that it was the best thing to do, "he should know about this."

Merlin wanted to say no, but Uther truly needed to be aware of this. What if the Light attacked more people? Panic would spread through Camelot and that would surely end in people dying. There was another option, however, one that Merlin knew would be better.

"Maybe we should Arthur first," Merlin suggested, "he'll believe us."

"You think Uther won't?" Gwen seemed to be confused by that thought, but then again, everything seemed to confuse her now. That Light had done her no good. Merlin straightened his back, wanting to stand up. He lost his balance, however, and fell down, Gwen grabbing his arm just in time to prevent him from knocking his head on the floor.

That Light had done him no good either.

Pushing himself up on his arms now, he went to sit next to Gwen, leaning against the cold stone wall, his breath rasping in his chest.

Gwen didn't say anything, she only gazed at Merlin.

"What was that?" Merlin exhaled, trying to figure what had just happened, why had lost his balance like that.

"That...light," Gwen sighed, "I feel very tired, Merlin." She let her head fall sideways, having it rest on Merlin shoulder. "I just want to sleep."

"I know the feeling," Merlin said, closing his eyes as well. "Let's just rest for a little while."

"No!" Gwen's voice came very loud. She pushed herself away from the wall and slowly stood up on her feet. Grabbing Merlin's hand, she pulled him up as well. "We need to go to Arthur," she said, "there is no time to sleep now."

Merlin could only agree. Slowly, they headed for the Prince's quarters, needing him to know what had just happened to them.

-o-o-

Arthur was eying Merlin with suspicion in his gaze. It seemed he wasn't sure if he could trust a word his servant was telling him. It was a strange story after all. A big white light had attacked him and Gwen only to have disappeared the next moment.

"What I am saying is true," Merlin said, taking a step towards the young Prince. He felt better already, but his legs were still trembling slightly. He needed Arthur to believe him. The Light might not appear harmful, Merlin knew the situation could not be trusted.

"So you say you saw a big white light come at you," Arthur frowned as he spoke, "and you felt tired when it...left?"

Merlin didn't like the way Arthur was talking about this. He knew the Prince would have been skeptical, but this was simple disbelief and Merlin needed Arthur to believe in him. Every instinct inside him told him that something needed to be done about this Light and here he stood, trying to convince a spoiled Prince that he was telling the truth. Why did Arthur never just trust in him?

Certainly he would trust in Gwen?

"Gwen will tell you the same," Merlin said, his voice hard as he was annoyed with the situation, "she felt it as well."

Gwen wasn't present, however. She had felt very faint and so Merlin had told her to get something to eat. Perhaps that would strengthen her.

Arthur didn't say anything, he only bit his lower lip as he tried to think of what he could do, of what his best options were. Slowly nodding his head, he finally seemed to belief in his servant. "I will have to talk to Guinevere as well," he spoke, "and my father will have to be present."

Merlin felt a faint smile play around his lips. He always felt a sense of satisfaction when Arthur trusted him.

"If what you're saying is true," Arthur continued speaking, "then Camelot might be facing a threat like it has never seen before. People will panic and that will lead to unnecessary deaths."

Merlin nodded. Arthur was right. They needed to avoid panicking people, but at the same time, they needed to handle this quickly. For some reason, Merlin felt that this Light wasn't as harmless as it appeared.

-o-o-

When Merlin returned to Gaius' personal chambers, he felt relieved that he would finally be able to get some rest. Sleep would do him some good, but seeing Gaius' troubled face, Merlin knew he could not just leave his uncle alone like this.

"What's wrong?" he asked, letting himself drop down at the table. Gaius had been present when Merlin and Gwen had testified about the Light to the King, but the young sorcerer hadn't been able to properly speak to him in private.

"Another six people have witnessed the Light," Gaius sighed as he was collecting herbs from his shelf, "they all have symptoms of exhaustion and dehydration."

"So the Light is truly doing something to the people?" Merlin asked, needing Gaius to confirm this thought for him. The old physician only nodded and Merlin felt himself swallow heavily. He had been inside the Light, did that mean something was wrong with him now?

"It doesn't seem that there is permanent damage," Gaius explained, seemingly knowing what was on his ward's mind, "but there must be something more going on."

"Like what?" Merlin asked, trying to understand where Gaius was going with all this, "do you think a sorcerer is responsible for this?"

Gaius sighed deeply, taking all the herbs he had collected and placing them on the table in front of Merlin. "There is no scientific explanation for this Light," he spoke softly, "there must be magic involved."

Merlin nodded. It had been his first thoughts as well. What else could there truly be? Even the way it had made him feel felt like it was something unnatural.

"What did you see?" Gaius asked, sitting down at the table as well now, "when you were inside the Light, what did you see?"

Merlin took a moment to recall that moment. It had all been so overwhelming that he had now really wanted to remember. "It was..." he searched for the right word, "beautiful."

Gaius raised one eyebrow as he waited on Merlin to explain further.

"It was very bright," the young sorcerer told him, "like the way a diamond shines in the sunlight, only it was everywhere. I was completely absorbed by it and I felt how it was drawing power out of me." Merlin was deep in thought, trying to remember every detail. "It was taking my life force and I didn't mind because...I wanted the moment to last just a second longer. It had me completely mesmerized."

"I must find out what this is exactly," Gaius said, glancing around towards the hundreds of books that stood neatly in their bookcases, "and I believe it will take me quiet some time."

"I'll help you," Merlin offered, already getting up from his seat.

"No," Gaius quickly said, "you need rest. I do not have a clue what the Light did with you or with all the others that have been inside it, but I do know that it has been exhausting you. You need some sleep."

Merlin wanted to protest, but he realized that there was no point. He was very tired after all and Gaius wouldn't allow Merlin to help him anyway. Nodding, he left for his own bedchamber and let himself fall down on his bed. Before he even realized it, he was fast asleep, forgetting about the Light and only dreaming of something he wouldn't even remember in the morning.

AN: The first chapter is done. It's always exiting to wait and see what you guys thing of it. What are your first thoughts? Do you think this can be good or do you doubts? Any and all feedback is welcome, of course. I want this story to be good as it has been toying around in my head for quiet some time already...

Please stick around for the second chapter...a lot is bound to happen that will change the lives of everyone!