AN: I've had some comments against my interpretation and that I've made Merlin too OOC . Since those reviewers had no reply URL I thought I'd reply this way.

I myself don't agree with half of the things I said in the first chapter but it was written from Merlin's POV after he's just played a big part in a mass murder (no matter his intentions, that's what it came down to in the end). The lies he told about Excalibur weren't to save his life, they were to get Arthur back on his feet and while I agree that to be a worthy goal, as a friend he would feel that there should have been a different way. I think Merlin is much more than what he thinks of himself in the first chapter (as would be shown in the series) but people tend to have trouble thinking beyond the present sometimes, especially after something important happened. About those ideas he has about what Arthur would do with him, well he was scared (has been worrying about that confrontation for years), and waiting, which doesn't normally make one less nervous.

My first version of the prologue (written after 4x11) had a totally different Merlin because of the moment I wrote him in. And between those times, My view of his character hasn't changed at all. It's his situation that has.

About the dark magic bit, I have no clue about classifications of magic but I do know that regardless of peoples intentions, magic is classified in certain ways in the Merlin universe (necromancy = dark for example). I personally interpret the manipulation of another's magic without their consent as dark (and there were those whispers that puppet made that guided that conclusion). Nobody explained it in the series so I may interpret it as I wish. :D Taking away another's will would have been even worse.

Prologue (2): A Request and Gathering

The sun was shining and Merlin was late. Then again, if he had come in while Arthur was still in bed with Guinevere he would probably have thrown his servant into the stocks. It had been like he was already dreaming, to fall asleep next to her and it was probably thanks to her company that Arthur's sleep had actually been restful this night, as it hadn't been since the day he'd come face to face with Morgana.

It had been the first time he'd seen her since he rode out two years ago on a quest to find the cup of life. He'd seen her that time in the throne room of course, the day she had revealed herself to be both blood-kin and traitor, but it had been from a distance. She hadn't seen him and they hadn't spoken. But last week he had finally faced her and how utterly twisted she had become. The hatred, so very present on her beautiful face was enough to give him nightmares. Remembering the relish with which Morgana had talked about killing him almost send tears to his eyes again. What had happened with that stubborn, outspoken girl that he used to joke and play fight with? How could she, who at one time held every innocent life so dear, possibly have turned into this?

Those were the questions that he had returned to almost every night in the privacy of his chambers. There was one other fleeting question though that kept nagging at him, about the one part of their conversation in the throne room that he still couldn't make sense of.

"Not even Emrys can save you now."

Who was Emrys?

But the happiness and security of having Guinevere next to him as his wife had chased the worries from his mind and the morning seemed bright with possibilities. Without Merlin there, Arthur and his queen had taken the opportunity to dress each other, ducking their heads and stealing kisses, smiling at their first night together. Arthur's rooms were still a bit messy but most of the rubble had been cleared away, most of the chairs stood once again with their right-side-up so the space had been deemed mostly liveable. Most of Guinevere's belongings had been lost during her capture by Helios and subsequent escape but Arthur had send a guard to Ealdor earlier that week to collect what was left of them. His wife – his wife! – was planning to collect them this morning. They smiled at each other before Guinevere turned to the door. Arthur sat down behind his desk and looked through the papers laying there. He absolutely was going to spend this week with his queen but Camelot was in a dire state so it wouldn't hurt to take a short look.

Guinevere opened the door and Arthur immediately heard the sound of Merlin's voice. He tuned it out. He was vaguely aware of Guinevere exchanging greetings with his servant before the door closed. Usually at this point he would hear the sounds of Merlin bustling about, cleaning his room and having an opinion about everything. Had he left? Arthur looked up and his eyes were met with the lanky form of Merlin, A very quiet, incredibly tense and un-Merlinlike Merlin, in the middle of the room.

"My lord."

The king frowned, standing up and walking around his desk.

"Merlin."

Merlin didn't move. His eyes were on the floor and it looked like he was trying to say something but every time he opened his mouth to speak he changed his mind and closed it again. Arthur sighed.

"Out with it. You look like someone told you we'll be doing nothing but hunting for the next month! Since unfortunately that isn't the case you may as well tell me what is wrong with you now so you can finish cleaning my rooms."

Arthur was going to say more but Merlin had raised his head and a glimpse of the expression on his face quieted him. While not entirely unfamiliar, that expression was part of the reason that Merlin still puzzled Arthur. As soon as it came it was gone again and now his friend just looked resolved. One of Merlin's hands dug into a pocket - of his old jacket! They'd have a talk about that later. Merlin had worn those clothes for almost seven years now and beyond a certain point of shabbiness talk would start about Arthur not providing for his servants.

"Arthur, I need to show you something."

Arthur's face turned patronizing. He rather thought he had reason to. The last time that Merlin uttered those words he'd taken Arthur to a sword stuck in a rock and had expected him to pull it out!

"Really, and what is that?"

It looked like Merlin was going to pull his hand out of his pocket but he changed his mind again and instead looked Arthur in the eyes.

"In the forest, do you remember how you said that you misjudged everyone?"

Arthur immediately turned away towards the window, leaving Merlin standing where he was.

"I thought it clear that we wouldn't speak of that again."

There was a warning in the king's voice but his servant didn't heed it. Merlin rushed through his words.

"Well, you've married Gwen so that is obviously not true. The truth is Arthur-"

Arthur turned his head back to servant as conviction entered the younger's voice.

"-you bring out the best in everyone. I truly believe that. But.."

Merlin paused and looked at his friend's face, and Arthur had the strange feeling that Merlin was memorizing everything that he found there before continuing.

" when you mentioned the people who you did misjudge… Morgana and Agravaine… My name should probably have been among them."

Arthur looked at Merlin flabbergasted before a snicker escaped his lips because really, this was just too ridiculous for words but Merlin didn't laugh.

"I've lied to you."

Arthur smirked.

"Really Merlin what lie was that? If it's about you having finished cleaning this room yesterday than thrust me, I already know."

"I can't tell you"

"Well that sounds fairly useless"

Merlin grinned at that. Some of the tension left his shoulders.

"Well, I suppose that's true. But… I've done things. And it's impossible to tell you everything. And you do need to know everything Arthur, if you're to make the right decision… for Camelot."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

There was something strange going on here but Merlin just looked at him, eyes bright.

"You're my king."

"I should hope so."

Merlin was getting stranger and stranger the longer this conversation continued and Arthur wasn't sure he liked it. His servant was strange enough at the best of times. It seemed that Merlin was going to say more but instead he pulled his hand out of his pocket and stepped towards the table. Arthur couldn't see what he was doing but when he stepped back four small blue stones lay in a neat row on the table. He frowned. Really, with all the fuzz Merlin was making he'd expected more.

"Stones? That's what you wanted to show me? What on earth are they for?"

Merlin's soft voice answered him.

"They're everything… A secret. A great many secrets actually."

Arthur looked at his servant like he'd gone mad. He thought that was not an impossible conclusion when Merlin talked like this. His hand reached for one of the stones and Merlin sighed.

"They contain memories. They're magic."

"Merlin!"

Arthur pulled his hand back as if he'd burned it. He'd almost touched one of those things!

"What are you thinking! Were you even thinking at all?"

Arthur was about to go on a rant about the risks that magic posed to certain idiots and the dangers of taking highly illegal items into the rooms of the king of Camelot but Merlin interrupted him.

"They're not dangerous Arthur, they're just-"

"They're magic you idiot! Of course they're dangerous! How stupid can you possibly-"

"I ASKED FOR THEM!"

For a second, the room seemed to echo with silence. Then there was the quiet tone of Arthur's voice.

"What do you mean by that. Merlin?"

The pale, dark-haired young man took a deep, shuddering breath and spoke.

"They will show you the whole truth. Everything. This is the only way I could think to show you. So I asked a friend to make them for me. "

Arthur stared at Merlin. A friend. A sorcerer? But he didn't ask. He'd ask later.

"What truth?"

Merlin stared back at him evenly.

"The truth about me."

Normally Arthur would have scoffed – like he was going to spend even part of the time meant to be spend with Guinevere digging through Merlin's petty secrets - He didn't. He just stared into the eyes of the man who had stood by his side for everything that had happened during the past six years. They were dark and stormy, he'd only rarely been able to read them and he couldn't now. Merlin picked up the brightest of the stones. Arthur idly noticed that its previously hidden side had a bright gold colour.

"Watch them. Please? Afterwards-"

Merlin swallowed.

"-you can do with me what you will."

Merlin bowed his head but Arthur felt strangely cornered. He wanted to dismiss the idea off hand but Merlin seemed in such turmoil and part of him was curious. What was it that he didn't know about his servant? And he nodded.

When Guinevere returned, Leon and Percival where there. She'd have asked what had brought them to Arthur's rooms but from the looks on their faces, they both had no more of a clue than she. Merlin stood in a corner looking strangely tense and severe. Arthur stepped up from the back of the room.

"Guinevere."

He smiled and hugged her, then stepped back.

"What's going on Arthur?"

Arthur smiled at her before directing his attention towards his knights.

"You'll probably also be wanting to know why you're here."

Percival and Leon nodded.

Arthur send a glance towards his manservant in the corner.

"You're here because MERlin thought it would be a good idea to bring a couple of magical objects into my rooms and since he won't let me get rid of them we'll all just have to suffer along."

Merlin turned red and glared at the king who simply continued, not the least bit apologetic.

"Well, that's the basic idea anyway. Those stones over there -"

Arthur motioned to the table looking deeply sceptical.

"-are supposed to contain memories about Merlin that I seemingly can't live without. Since they're about him they're hardly going to be dangerous."

Arthur looked thoughtful.

"Possibly idiotic? But he seems to think that they'll cause me to need reinforcements to feel safe in his presence."

Arthur neglected to mention that Merlin had told him that he had to trust whoever he chose for this absolutely. Since Gwaine and Elyan were still recovering that left him with the men that stood before him now. Percival and Leon looked bemused at the thought of Arthur being scared to be in a room with Merlin, but Gwen could only feel unnerved at the idea of magic being in the room with them. She looked at the four deep blue stones, each in a different shade, before shooting a glance at Merlin who still hadn't moved from his place in the corner. He was her friend, she didn't really think that he'd bring them anything dangerous, but it was still magic. Merlin met her gaze and smiled slightly at her, regret visible in his face, before he stepped forward. It somehow only made the young queen feel more uncertain.

Merlin cleared his throat.

"Each of these stones contains images. In order, the lightest are supposed to be watched first, the darkest last. The one who gave them to me told me that to play the memories, the stone in use is supposed to be put down with the gold side up."

He turned to Arthur.

"If you want the memories to stop you have to turn the blue side upwards."

Arthur frowned.

"Why am I supposed to know all this?"

"Because I'll probably be sleeping."

"Emmm, no you're not."

"Yes I am. Since they're about me, I'm supposed to activate them and my friend said that it'll most likely knock me out."

Arthur gaped at Merlin before snapping his mouth closed and glaring.

"You didn't say anything about activating them! This is magic! How are we supposed to know if you'll even wake up afterwards!"

"I will."

"You don't know that you idio-"

"Merlin," Gwen intervened. Looking worriedly at her friend. She noticed that Leon and Percival were looking a bit uncertain now too.

"Are you sure that it'll be safe?"

Merlin smiled at her. He seemed to be trying for his normal carefree grin but he couldn't quite manage it.

"I'm sure. Activating these stones won't kill me."

"Wait a minute Merlin?" Arthur interrupted. "How long is this going to take? A couple of minutes? An hour?"

Merlin gave him a look .

"Longer."

"LONGER!"

Arthur looked even more frustrated now.

"Why are we doing this again?".

Guinevere would like to know the answer to that question too. What was the purpose of this? But Merlin didn't answer. Instead he walked to the table and picked up the stone with the lightest hue, moving the others to the side. The colour reminded Guinevere of the sky in the summer; bright and as warm as blue can be. The knights too approached the table but Arthur turned towards her.

"Guinevere. Do you really want to be here for this?"

"Do you want me to be?"

She smiled and he smiled back.

"Well, we are supposed to spend this day together, regardless of hopeless manservants."

She pretended to look thoughtful in her reply, her dark eyes sparkling with mirth.

"I do seem to remember you telling me that a king is supposed to follow tradition."

They leaned in closer but before they could kiss sir Leon cleared his throat. They both turned to him and he motioned towards Merlin who stood at the head of the table with his eyes squeezed shut and both his hands clenched around the stone he'd picked up. Arthur and Gwen immediately stepped closer to watch. Merlin was just standing there but his entire body seemed to be rippling with tension. She could hear Arthur ordering Percival to lock the door but she paid it no mind. Just from looking at Merlin's face Guinevere could tell that whatever he was doing took him a great deal of effort and she was worried for her friend. Finally, the tension left Merlin's thin body and left him wavering where he stood. He set down the stone, which was now glowing softly, on the table blue-side up.

"I did it."

His voice cracked and he looked up at Arthur with such a profound despair that it made Gwen's breath catch in her throat. Then his knees buckled and Merlin collapsed on the floor.

The king was immediately at his side, his face unreadable but his hands frantic as they were feeling for Merlin's pulse even as the younger blinked up at him sleepily. She could hear Arthur Mutter:

"You idiot. If you knew something like this would happen you should at least have sat down."

Arthur's blue eyes searched out his men.

"Percival! Lift him onto the bed."

The biggest knight nodded and immediately did as ordered, also looking slightly worried.

Merlin hadn't cleaned the room that morning but Guinevere had been a servant for years and some habits would not be broken so she had made the bed earlier. As he touched the soft clean blankets Merlin immediately curled up and for the first time Gwen noticed that even before 'activating' the stone Merlin had looked tired and there were dark shadows beneath his eyes. He could probably use some rest. She could hear Arthur muttering to his friend.

"Don't you dare get used to this Merlin!"

When it was clear that Merlin was comfortable, they all returned to the table and sat down around it, Gwen next to Arthur and the two knights on the other side. Everybody looked tense and nobody moved to touch the small glowing stone at their centre. In the end it was Arthur who slowly stretched out his hand and picked up the magical object of everyone's attention. He held it for a second, looking at it as if it was going to bite him but nothing happened. Then he put it back down with the gold side clearly visible. A wave of pure white light erupted from the stone, blinding all who sat around the table.

When Gwen managed to open her eyes Arthur and his knights had jumped up and she could see that they all had a hand on the hilt of their swords. As they hastily took note of their surroundings, they noticed immediately what was different. The light from the stone had dimmed back to its former soft glow but a rectangular screen, seemingly made of a white light, now floated at approximately one meter distance from the table at such a height that it was easily visible to all of them. It hummed softly. Arthur slowly sat back down, his knights following his example. Then, soft music started to play and an image appeared on the screen…

AN: The next chapter is finally gonna be the first 'watching' chapter. Since it'll be the first one (and Merlin won't be there to explain) it'll have much revelations and confusion and will probably be a lot longer then a normal episode but I'm sure we can deal with it. :D

I'm also really looking forward to more reviews. You wouldn't want to disappoint me would you?

-Damn, now I challenged everyone not to review. I didn't mean to!-