"Did you see the way his arm twisted and blackened as he dropped the axe! The King—"

"Did you hear the strange words the sorcerer shouted when he—"

"Like another language, I know!"

"My Harold's apprentice said he saw this blinding light coming from underneath the sorcerer's hood as he made his enchantment. He said—"

Merlin hasn't truly spent time with anyone other than his father for over a year, but he has not forgotten the ability of villagers and traders to spread false whispers quicker than King Uther was pushed back into his castle. Nonetheless, there is much which can be learned from even hearsay and so he wanders the awakening market a while and listens. He senses the ripple of fear travelling faster than a forest fire, but knows despite what they believe they have seen and heard that they are all sure the perpetrator has vanished with the morning wind. There is a heavy presence of sentries who steadily fill the streets, taking precautions at the order of their captains and letting the people of Camelot know that their home is safe while patrols are undertaken and posts are manned.

Merlin dawdles around the outskirts of the citadel, close to the castle so he doesn't lose his way in the crowds but far enough that nobody could possibly be suspicious of him. He isn't as familiar with these backstreets as he is the halls and training fields he used to run through as a child, and he wistfully maps out the grounds of the castle in his head, getting lost in the depths of his memories as he walks aimlessly. He remembers sitting on the grass and watching the knights train until it was so dark the men could only see the glint of each other's swords, and he remembers sprinting down corridors to the kitchens for snacks and sneaking into secret dungeons where guarded magical instruments were locked up. He wonders how much of this he could get away with these days and laughs to himself.

"What kind of physician are you!" a deep voice shouts. It brings Merlin out of his reverie, and with a new type of excitement growing inside of him he drifts towards the direction in which the heads of the people nearby turn.

Merlin has not seen Gaius since he was six years old, but many times during his absence from Camelot he has thought about how he would instantly recognise his friend despite so many years passing the both of them by. He is pleased to find that he does. Although the man's hair is whiter and there are a few more lines which frame his eyes, Merlin's face splits into an enormous grin as he hurries towards him.

"You're as healthy as I could expect you to be, sir," Gaius is saying to the man the deep tones belong to. He sounds as if he is losing his patience. "Please stop wasting my time so that I might tend to others who may truly need my assistance."

"But I've been burnt!" the man cries, shaking his arm.

Many people are watching the scene unfold but otherwise keep themselves from getting involved. Merlin thinks there might be a few who are perhaps hoping to hear something new about the events in the courtyard, so that they can whisper with new strength and be responsible for great stories.

Gaius begins packing his supply bag. "I have offered to wrap your arm for you."

"The sorcerer burnt my arm, look! His eyes were as red as the fire he created!"

"There was no fire," Gaius says through his teeth as he closes his bag with a loud snap. He ignores the way the other man shakes his arm in front of his face and the way the people of Camelot crane their necks to see the evidence.

"You saw the sorcerer?" Merlin asks as he approaches, his eyes full of the right amount of concern and fear. "Don't you think you should tell the King? I'm sure he would want to—"

"N-no," he says. "The King would not grant an audience with someone like me."

"I'm sure he would if you've got such important information to tell him."

"What do you know about an audience with the King?" the man asks hotly.

"Likely not much," Gaius says. "But I do. I am the court physician and I know that King Uther would want to be the first to be told about what you know."

The man hastily rolls down his sleeve, covering an injury which Merlin suspects is several days old rather than mere hours. "Uther does not care about his people," he spits, and he hurries away.

Gaius picks up his bag. "Thank you for that," he says as he finally looks up to meet Merlin's eyes. He stares intently for longer than is strictly polite, and Merlin is all but bouncing on his feet before the old man recovers himself. "I'm afraid a lot of people here are trying to seize some sort of an opportunity."

Merlin clears his throat and shrugs as nonchalantly as he can. "He was shouting at you," he says simply. "Were many people injured?"

Gaius shakes his head. "It doesn't seem so. It is very peculiar." He pauses and regards Merlin for a moment. "After checking with the King I hurried out to offer my help, but there is nobody who needs it. I think I should return to my chambers just in case somebody is waiting for me there."

A palpable sense of relief washes over Merlin and his breath comes out in a rush. "That's good."

Gaius straightens himself. "Thank you again," he says. Then he leaves.

Merlin opens his mouth. He's suddenly struck with nerves and finds he can't move his feet as he watches his friend walk away.

But Gaius turns back, his eyes twinkling. He knows. He knows. "Are you not coming, Merlin?"

Merlin's face splits into another grin. "Gaius! I thought you didn't recognise me!"

"How could I not?" Gaius asks with his own wide smile, and then he is laughing as he drops his bag and he and Merlin hurry over to each other. They are both laughing as their arms wrap around each other. "How you've grown!" Gaius marvels as they pull back.

"Everything seems a lot smaller," Merlin agrees, "but you are the same! I've missed you."

"As I have missed you." Gaius's eyes are shining with tears. "You should have told me you were coming, my boy."

"I wanted to surprise you," Merlin says as he hurriedly wipes his own eyes with his sleeve.

"You have always been destined to give me a heart attack, Merlin," Gaius tells him seriously as he clasps the boy's shoulder. "Come on! I want to hear all of your adventures. I have had far less of my own than I would have liked since you left."

"It's all been a bit boring, really," Merlin lies as he picks up Gaius's bag, and they laugh again.

Merlin's cheeks ache and Gaius is still trying to believe that he is real as they walk through the courtyard together. He keeps his hand on the boy's shoulder as if to make sure, though he is not fond of having to reach upwards these days. He can practically feel Merlin buzzing with excitement.

There are more people around now that the rubble has settled, though it is mostly only Camelot's knights around them. Merlin recognises some of them as the ones who were on the balcony with Uther and ushered him to safety. They are pretending to investigate the debris underneath where the King's balcony used to be and, Merlin thinks, doing a poor job of looking interested. He wonders what they're hoping to achieve from anxiously kicking at the rubble with the tips of their polished boots. One tall knight he notices whose dirty blonde hair rests on his shoulders looks like he's expecting the destruction to explode further.

"Magic," the knight whispers in a dark tone, and the others standing close enough to hear gape at him in their alarm.

"Wouldn't suggest it to the King though would you, Leon?"

"Would you, Geraint?" the other challenges. "What do you think, Gaius?" he asks as he notices the physician passing.

Gaius looks at Merlin before he answers. "I am sure Uther will make no secret of hunting down a sorcerer." Merlin's gulp is audible. "Although I believe there may have been more than one. One could not possibly have caused such devastation as this as well as aiding the prisoner to escape."

The knights murmur amongst themselves.

"We should tell Arthur," Leon eventually says. Merlin's heart skips a beat at the name of the Crown Prince.

"Too scared to tell the King, still?" the one named Geraint teases.

Gaius sighs very loudly at the men as if he has had a lot of practice, and he hurries Merlin along. After they climb the steps to the castle and they are walking through the doors the old man pats Merlin's arm with his free hand.

"It has been awfully quiet around here without you, my boy."

"Sorry about the mess."

"What you did was extremely dangerous," Gaius says sternly, but then he sighs. "I suppose I should get used to you doing extraordinary things."