I fell off the rock.
That was it. That's what was behind everything. I knew there was something, but I always thought he was hiding some mysterious fighting tactic, one he didn't want to share. How could I have been so stupid? This was so much bigger than that. How could he have kept this secret for so long? Why didn't he tell me? I thought I was his friend.

Then I was overwhelmed by the sheer hugeness of what had just happened. This explained everything I could think of: Merlin's reckless bravery; all those times he was dying, and woke up the next morning; his apparent invisibility on the battlefield; the way he had resisted Lamia…
Oh god. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. I rolled to my feet, no longer caring if I was seen. Merlin's head snapped around immediately, and I just stared at him. Merlin…

He nodded, his expression a deep mixture of shame, sorrow, and a hope that was almost painful to see. He turned back to the king, the hope filling his whole face. I looked at the king, the man who feared magic, the man who had been betrayed so many times before…
The man who was laughing. His face was red, his hands clutching his stomach as though it hurt. He doubled up, chortling, and I had never hated him more.

"Knights!" yelled Arthur. "Merlin here just told me he's a sorcerer."
There was an answering guffaw from the knights as they reached the camp. I remained frozen in shock, and Leon's face slackened abruptly as he figured it out. Arthur didn't see it, though; he was drunk on mirth, fat on stupidity and ignorance. I despised him for a moment.
He turned his back on Merlin, his expression a bit more serious, wiping tears from his eyes.
"That was a good one. But you should keep your mouth shut in future, Merlin. Some people might take you seriously."
Hate as I had never seen it before flashed on Merlin's face. Darkness fell instantly on the camp, and Merlin raised a hand and spoke an unintelligible word. A white beam of lightning split open the sky and smashed into the fire, making the flames roar to three times their normal height. Arthur froze and slowly wheeled around. The knights fell silent.

"You have no idea what I've been going through every day for the past five years, Arthur. NO idea. Watching you berate magic, sentencing sorcerers to death, knowing that you would kill me if you ever found out. I'm sick of this, of all of this. This is who I am."
There was absolute silence. Nobody moved, nobody spoke. We just watched the Merlin we knew transform into a stranger.
"You thought I was just stupid old Merlin, weak little Merlin, unable to even lift a knife. You think you're so powerful, with your army and your sword. After everything you put me through, all the times you've insulted me, hit me, sent me away, made fun of me, protected me. All this time, I've been more powerful than you could ever be. I have saved your life so many times." He moved closer. The anger in his voice was palpable, the air stung with accusations.
He looked around. "I've saved all of your lives, in ways you could never imagine. How do you think I survived every battle, alone and defenceless? How many times has a man been hit by a falling branch, or dropped his sword? Did you even notice? How come I knew everything before anyone else? I knew Morgana had magic for years, but I never told. I knew Agravaine was betraying you an entire month before you found out. What do you think I should have done, Arthur? Should I have told you, and gotten executed for treason, or stood by and watch as people were murdered before my eyes? How many times have you had to make that decision?"
Arthur gulped, tried to speak, his face a white mask, but Merlin didn't pause.
"I've cooked your meals, I've cleaned and mended your clothes, I've polished your armour, I've mucked out your stables, I've been in the stocks more times than I can count. I put up with that, with all of that, every single stinking day since I got here. I could have killed you the very first day I met you, but I didn't. It's my destiny to protect you, Arthur.
And yet you hate my kind. You think magic's evil? I am the most powerful sorcerer alive, and have you been harmed? No. I've helped you. I forged the sword Excalibur. I pushed it into the stone, and I used magic to help you pull it out. Yes, I used magic. Everything you've done, everything you believe in, is founded on magic. You were born only out of the power of the witch Nimueh. I lied to you. Ygraine was telling the truth. I knew. Magic is just a tool, you need to understand that; it can be used for good and for bad. I knew that, and Morgana didn't, and look what happened to her! She thinks she is undefeatable. Hah!
I am the last Dragonlord. I command the Great Dragon. I am the last of my kind, I alone remain. I am Emrys, and the druids owe allegiance to me. I am Dragoon."
He suddenly looked regretful. There was the tensest silence I had ever heard. Dragoon, the horrible old wizard who had escaped the flames in Camelot? The man who…
There came a strangled cry beside me.
"You!"
Arthur wrenched his sword from its scabbard.
"You killed my father!"
I could only watch as Arthur ran towards Merlin, his sword raised, his face a mask of confused fury. He swung his sword, close enough to cut, close enough to kill. And stopped. His sword touching Merlin's neck.
Merlin hadn't moved. Hadn't even flinched. He stared Arthur in the eye. Not even stopping his own death.
"I would die for you, Arthur."
There was silence. An interminable pause. Then a low mutter.
"Go."
Merlin hesitated. The blade pressed deeper into his neck, drawing blood.
"Go. LEAVE!"
Arthur shoved Merlin away, then recoiled. Merlin strode to his horse, not even gathering his belongings. He mounted, then looked back. There was such a deepness in his gaze, such sadness, that I mourned for him.
"Morgana is strong. She will attack in two weeks' time and it will mean the fall of Camelot. You will need help."
The horse galloped forwards, and at the last moment, we all felt it in our heads. I'm sorry.

We stood watchful at the entrance to the camp. Arthur had warned us – after an age of standing motionless, harbouring a fierce internal battle – to kill anyone on sight, but we knew who he was talking about. Then the proud, angry king had stormed off through the boulders, deaf to our qualms.
It all made sense, though. Merlin's mysterious ability to deflect attention, the quiet air of certainty he sometimes exuded, the way he walked into battle unarmed and left unharmed.
But he was Dragoon. The evil sorcerer. I couldn't figure out what it was about. The wizard who had enchanted Arthur. The wizard who had killed his father. Dragoon was powerful and spiteful and repulsive, and if he was Merlin, there was a dark streak in him after all. I turned to Percy who was keeping watch beside me.
"If Merlin were Dragoon…"
Before the knight had a chance to reply, a voice spoke from the darkness. Arthur.
"Gaius told me that Morgana had killed my father. There was no way to save him. Dra – Merlin had done nothing wrong."
He was calm. I couldn't read what he was thinking.
"Gaius must have known all along."
Uh oh. I hoped he would leave him alone.
But then another thought struck me. Merlin had stood by him as the king had hated and feared magic. How many thousands of people had Uther killed and Arthur banished? This was the reason for Merlin's gradual withdrawal, his anxiety, his guilt.
I looked at Arthur and saw that he knew. He understood everything, probably better than me.
"What will you do?"
"Merlin can't come back, Gwaine. I hope you can understand that and respect my decision."
The king turned and retreated to the shadows again. He had locked down. I'd seen that face before, when he put his actions as a warrior before his feelings as a human, not letting his emotions show. We'd all done things we weren't proud of, but Arthur carried the weight of them everywhere.

None of us slept that night. At around midnight we all attempted to get some rest, apart from Arthur, who had vanished back into the shadows. We soon gave up on that. The night was freezing, the fire had gone out and our brains were buzzing like bees.
I found myself wondering what Merlin could actually do with his magic. He was obviously quite powerful, but how powerful was quite powerful? Could he control the weather, grant wishes, bring people back from the grave? My stomach rumbled. Could he produce food out of thin air? Or beer? But I had to focus. I winced. How many times had we been saved by a flash of magic? Maybe this was why he always rolled his eyes when people congratulated the king on another victory. I always figured it was because he didn't want Arthur even more big-headed. I guessed it was because of his direct involvement with the enemy's downfall.
We mused in the silence of the night. I realised we were all awake, and split the silence.
"Did anyone know?"
A pause.
"I did."
I sat up.
"Elyan?"
His tone was suddenly defensive.
"I grew up outside Camelot, in a small place near a druid camp, where magic was allowed. I stayed with them for a few days on my way to Flancia, and they… taught me a few things. Not magic. Ways to help me recognise some. Things like the fact that a sorcerer is never injured during battle, unless taken by surprise. And the fact that true magic is attracted to good souls, which Merlin obviously is."
I nodded to myself, voicing what I had been suspecting.
"And Lancelot must have known."
"Why do you say that?" said one of them.
"He looked out for Merlin. Always volunteered to go with him. Stayed close. Merlin must have told him. He always trusted Lance."
There came a sudden rustle as someone left late, I recognised the voice, but Arthur had already gone. The knights berated me under their breath, but the damage was done. The rest of the night was an oppressive stillness.

The horses got impatient at dawn. They were normally fed and watered by this time. Where had the normal human gone? Why were these idiots clomping around their heads? They complained, energetically. Elyan, the blacksmith, eventually calmed them and prepared their tack. When we were all ready to leave, I hunted around for Arthur. I eventually found him sitting on the ground facing the stream.
"Arthur? We're leaving."
There was no response. I noticed his shoulders shaking, and I heard a quiet sob. This was not a good time to interrupt; Arthur was the type of man to beat you senseless if you said he was weak. Leon the indestructible had better handle this one.
I returned to the others.
"Wait a bit."
They flopped down onto the ground, perfectly willing to wait as long as it took. This was one of the problems of being a knight; you had to do as you were told. Any arguments were taken as treason, if your commander was in a particularly bad mood. Not very fun for someone like me. I hated orders.
After ten minutes, during which I dreamed about beer, Arthur emerged from the shrubbery. I could see no sign of tears, and he looked as proud as ever. He was a good actor.
Come to think of it, Merlin was a better one. He had fooled everyone he met into thinking he was a simpleton. This set my thoughts buzzing once again.

The sovereign didn't say a word, just mounted his horse and led us away. The ride was longer and more boring than the first one. It was difficult to think that just two days ago, I was complaining about beer and about moving around too much. So much had happened that the memory was distant and unrealistic.
We rode quickly and made the gates of Camelot just before nightfall. We clopped into the yard, where Queen Guinevere was awaiting us on the steps, relieved and happy that we were home safe. My stomach clenched at the thought of keeping up the pretence that everything was all right, and we all must have felt the same way, because we brought our horses to the stables ourselves instead of leaving them with the stable hands and entering the castle directly. Arthur didn't acknowledge the wave of his beloved, and we moved away before I could see the look of confusion and hurt on her face.
Arthur led his horse into its box, and stared a moment at the empty stall next to it.
The stable boy in charge of the royal horse looked at Arthur, confused.
"Where's the other one?"
Reality hit again, and Arthur left abruptly. I just shook my head at the boy, not meeting his gaze. The thought that I would never see Merlin's familiar, perenially overexcited horse again ripped through my brain.
If there was ever a time for the pub, it was now. I strode across the square before someone could stop me, but was barely halfway before a hand grasped my arm and checked me. Gwen.
"What's going on, Gwaine? Arthur won't talk to me. What's wrong? Where's…" She tailed off as she understood.
"Where's Merlin?" Her tone was sharper now, scared, definitely worried. Why should she care, I thought bitterly. Why would the queen care about a lowly servant? She squeezed my arm tighter, and I winced, but there was no escape. I sighed and pushed the hair out of my face.
"You know how there's… something about Merlin?"
She nodded hesitantly, the question still on her face.
"He told us. He has magic."
Her eyes widened as the pieces fell into place. Her expression changed from amazement to understanding as she glanced over her shoulder.
"And Arthur…"
"Arthur didn't take it well."
She let go of me, her mind still wrapping around the best-kept secret any of us had ever heard. She stood stock-still in the middle of the square. The knights were in similar stances with their loved ones. The total absence of Merlin filled everything.
"Merlin's gone. Arthur won't let him come back. We won't be able to change his mind. You should go to him."
She nodded absent-mindedly. I made my escape.
Just before I reached the tavern door, another thought struck me. Gaius. He had to know. I groaned. Damn my essentially good nature.
I changed direction and headed to the physician's chambers. Merlin's chambers. I pushed the thought away to do what needed to be done.
I walked in without a second thought, to find Arthur slumped on the table, Gaius patting his shoulder. They hadn't noticed me. I quickly ducked out and hid around the corner. This, although I hated it, was the only way to really find out what was going on.

There was silence. I could see a fraction of Arthur's face, and it looked like all the laws and precedents in the world had burned to the ground. This was completely unlike Arthur. I hadn't even seen him look this helpless when his father died. Was killed. By Merlin.
Merlin was a good man. I had to remember that. But it was proving difficult, knowing he had such secrets. And who didn't get corrupted by power? Little niggling doubts made their presence known. I pushed them away, concentrating on what was happening on the other side of the door.
"He's gone. And I made him go. It was the right thing to do." He didn't sound convinced.
More silence. A few clinks. Gaius was preparing a potion.
"He was my friend. He saved my life. But he killed my father."
I could hear the conflict in his voice.
"All those people killed…all those men executed… Merlin had to watch it all."
And to think that Merlin had kept loyal, stayed by his side, put on a bright face and a happy step, when inside he must have despised him… I could understand Arthur's grief. I even felt sorry for the king for a moment, before remembering the exile of the only real friend I had.
"You tried to tell me once."
Gaius' gravelly voice was subdued.
"Merlin sacrificed everything he had. He achieved impossible things, and never took credit for anything. He believed in you."
Arthur collapsed on the table again, vulnerable. A defensive instinct broke through and he rounded on Gaius.
"And how long have you known about this?"
The old man stared at him coolly.
"Don't blind yourself with hatred, sire. Don't blame the wrong people."
There was renewed silence before Gaius continued.
"Merlin was born with the gift. He had never studied a word before he came to Camelot, yet he saved my life as he walked in the door. His destiny is tied to yours. He was always meant to find you and protect you against the dangers you face. It has been written since the dawn of time."
"And how did you find out about this? I've never heard any of this before."
"Yes you have, my lord. Merlin told you he protected you, and you chose to disregard the statement. But he, we found out when he spoke with the Great Dragon Kilgarrah, who was chained beneath Camelot for hundreds of years."
"A dragon told you of this?"
"Dragons are wise and powerful creatures of magic. It is difficult to wound one and near impossible to kill one."
"Hang on, I killed that dragon!"
"Did you? Who told you that?"
There was a pause.
"Merlin. Come to think of it, I was knocked out."
"Merlin stepped up and found his powers as a Dragonlord. He ordered it away and saved Camelot."
"How many times have things like this happened?"
"Too many to count."
Arthur pushed back his chair.
"I should leave." He was angry suddenly, ticked off by what had been going on right under his nose.
I darted away, my heart thudding. I heard Arthur stride down the corridor, sniffling as he went, wiping his face with the back of his hand. I calmed myself, and finally went to the tavern, where the waitress, knowing me rather personally, had left my unfinished beer on the counter. I broke into a broad grin. This was better. Here, I could escape the harsh reality that was my life for a precious few hourse.

"Gwaine!"
I spun around, my instincts ready to attack, my nerves strung tight, the corridor dark and empty at this time of night. It was Arthur, just coming out of the dining hall, still clutching a goblet of wine. I drooled mentally; just a sip of that wine was equal to two whole tankards of standard beer. I shook myself and nodded at him.
"Yes, Princess?"
"Where am I?"
He'd been drinking. I'd been drinking. Everyone who knew of Merlin's revelation had been drinking, apart from Gwen the Good, who preferred to express herself through wild bouts of lying around.
The king's face was ruddy and unfocused, but I had the feeling he was much more alert than he pretended. Arthur was one of those men who didn't really get drunk until the eighth or ninth pint, and he always took care to stop before that.
If I could see through it, so could everyone else. I had to play along and get him to his chambers before he was seen in this depressive state.
"I'll take you, Princess."
He staggered towards me, leaning all his weight on my outstretched arm as I tried to avoid any proximity. I pulled him quickly through the corridors, and sighed in relief when we reached his door.
"This is your stop."
He pushed open the door and meandered inside. I shut the door behind him and waited until I was sure he wasn't going to trip and die. All was silent inside.
I turned to leave. And was soon stopped by a wordless yell.
Arthur charged out, his eyes flaming, the door banging against the wall. He marched off in the direction of the barracks.
"Double the guard!" I heard in the distance.
The sudden change was alarming. I stood stock-still in the middle of the corridor, then made up my mind and entered the room, for the first time in my life.
It wasn't anything that special, to be honest. I'd expected to find a gold-plated floor, an enamelled bed and a diamond-paned window, inlaid with platinum. It was actually just a fancy bedroom.
I looked around, increasingly aware of the heavy footsteps approaching rapidly. There, a scrap of paper left on the desk. I leaned in, eyes focusing slowly in the dark room. In neat, rounded letters, were the words:
You cannot fight this war alone.
Your horse can find me.
-M
My heart leapt. Merlin had been here! My heart sank. Merlin had been here. He'd sneaked into the king's bedroom, left a foreboding message, and evaded the guard with unusual ease. With Arthur in two minds about magic, this could have pushed him over the edge of reason.
And it had.

We were seated in the meeting hall. Actually, the council was seated and everyone else was slumped. After an exhaustive search of the entire castle and a complete lack of sleep, we were sure of Merlin's absence but unsure of how long we could hold out before we collapsed. The strain of impending doom can be so wearying.
We looked up as one as Arthur crashed in in his customary fashion: late. He looked grim, determined. His cloak was stained and his hair ruffled, but he looked much the same as always, the arrogant prat.
"Gentlemen, I'm sorry to have dragged you out of your beds so early this morning," he said, completely disregarding the blatant state of exhaustion of the knights and speaking only to the muffin-headed, irritatingly chipper Higher Council.
"We are in a state of emergency. The castle was breached late last night, and no one has seen a thing. I want to find out how it was done and track down the culprit. Things like this are unacceptable at the current time."
I sat up. "What do you mean?"
"Morgana has been sighted again. She appears to be leading an army of… Sidhe."
"Of what? Did you say she?"
"The Sidhe are a powerful magical race that seek to destroy Camelot and those within it."
Gaius, filling in as usual with his vast knowledge of everything.
"Security must be tightened. Who knows what damage the intruder last night has done?"
"Do we know who this intruder is?"
Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose.
"His name is Merlin."
There was a collective gasp. This was the first time the council had heard of Merlin's disappearance, and the knights had no idea of last night's events.
"Merlin? The manservant?"
The Council Elder sounded incredulous. They all knew Merlin by sight; he was always there, the only servant permanently allowed in the chambers.
"Merlin was here?"
Elyan was on the right track. Leon was catching up too. Arthur leaned his hands on the table, his tone serious.
"Merlin is an enemy of Camelot, and must be treated as such." His eyes needled mine, then Gaius'.
"He is a great threat. He claims to know of a battle that will be fought against Morgana in two weeks' time, and he has an unparalleled knowledge of the city's defences."
"But Merlin?" repeated the Elder. "He seemed such a nice young man."
"My lord," started Leon. "Do we actually have any proof that Merlin isn't on our side?"
"All magic is evil, no matter the form."
"Excuse me, sire, but I was under the impression you were leaving the druids alone. Are we going to start hunting them, now that you have been blinded by—"
"Sir Elyan, I will have you banished from Camelot if you do not respect my decisions. I am your king, the head of this kingdom and everyone in it. The duty of protecting you falls to me. And I will not have a commoner tell me what to do."
Merlin did.
The thought passed between all us knights. The council didn't speak, rattled by such vehemence. Arthur continued, out of breath, slightly manic.
"The system must be changed now, before any enemies can take advantage of our weakness. New siege tunnels must be dug, and more guards trained. The sooner the better. Those are my orders, and I expect you to fallow them."
With a last glare, he swept out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
"We have no chance," said Percival. "No hope in hell of doing all of that in two weeks."
We were all grim-faced as we started to file out the door. There was an inevitability in the air. Our numbers had been decimated by Morgana's last attack; we four were the only fully-trained knights remaining, and there were barely enough guards to mount a decent patrol every night. Merlin knew that. I forced my thoughts away. Time couldn't poison my memories of the strongest man I ever knew. But the misgivings grew stronger.
I found myself facing Gaius. I searched his features, and realized he was unusually calm. There was a light in his eyes that only emerged around one person. Could it be?
"Where is he?" I whispered.
"Come with me to my chambers," he responded loudly after a pause. "I have the perfect concoction for your tiredness."
I followed him immediately to the official court physician chambers. He closed the door firmly behind us and nodded in the direction of Merlin's bedroom.
I smiled. Had he really been here this entire time? That was just like him.
I opened the door eagerly. And was greeted by the sight of a large, sleek dog, stretched out flat on the bed. It jolted awake and considered me intelligently.
I looked round at Gaius, who nodded mischievously.
"Merlin?"
The dog bounded up and padded towards me. It was black, with a narrow face and a smiley mouth. Maybe some type of wolfhound, but immense.
"How did you get like this?" I asked doubtfully.
The dog looked down, growled. Its, his eyes flashed a bright gold, and the floorboard grew a single bluebell.
My mouth dropped open with an unattractive pop. This was real magic, being performed in front of my eyes.
Merlin smiled at me, his head cocked to one side, his tongue drooping lazily out of his mouth. I rooted around his room, uncovered a red neckerchief and tied it around his neck. Perfect.
"Merlin! There you are!"
The dog barked happily and pushed his nose against my arm. I petted him, feeling slightly foolish, but overjoyed. Merlin was here! I heard the physician say something, and backed out of the room to hear him.
"I heard something outside the door yesterday afternoon, and found Merlin here. He's disguised himself well, but I told him he couldn't fool me. The spell was strong, but he'll need a potion if he wants to keep that form much longer. I'm preparing it now."
I glanced back at the furry Merlin, who had followed me out of the room and was wagging his tail. I hated to destroy the mood, but I had to let him know.
"Arthur thinks you are an enemy. He's doubling security and searching the castle. I think you did more harm than good, my friend."
Merlin couldn't really answer back, so I turned to Gaius.
"I think I know his reasoning. Arthur may fear magic, and now Merlin, but he needed some way to know how he could find help when he needed it. It will work in the long term, I'm sure." He finished rather doubtfully, but Merlin nodded right along with him. He curled up on his side, apparently tired, and I noticed a ridiculously large thorn protruding from his side.
"Honestly, Merlin, how do you always manage to get the worst of everything? That is the biggest splinter I've ever seen."
I reached over to pull it out, barely noticing Gaius glance up sharply. Merlin shrugged and sighed in dog-fashion.
"Don't touch it!"
I froze. Gaius strode over and squinted at it.
"My dear boy…"
No. This could not be good.
"Where did you get this?"
Merlin, who had stiffened in shock, turned around and gave us a 'are you seriously expecting me to tell you' face. Gaius had paled. He removed the tweezers he kept in his breast pocket and carefully pulled the splinter out.
"I don't believe it. This is a Sidhe arrow. They must have somehow spotted you on your way here. Sidhe arrows are laced with a deadly toxin that will slowly destroy and deteriorate your body. The process can take weeks. Most painful."
He got up and bustled in his usual fashion, pulling out books, moving aside test tubes. He was in his element here. He returned with a heavy tome and cleared his throat importantly.
"Fortunately, there is a known antidote. Should be simple enough to brew up. The Sidhe are undoubtedly powerful, but their knowledge and cunning is limited. I shall need perhaps five hours. Merlin should stay here and rest."
I agreed. Then, with the worst timing I could ever have imagined, the guards knocked on the door.
"Open the door. We have permission from the king to search your premises."

I stared wild-eyed at Gaius. The physician had lost what little colour he had regained. We were scuppered. Caught paw-handed.
I jolted into action. There was no back door, so Merlin would have to stay put. I pulled down an old blanket and spread it into an oval. Then I steered Merlin towards it, plonking him down firmly and running to the bedroom.
"What are you doing in there? Open this door at once."
I ignored them, motioning to Gaius to clear away the books as I straightened out the bed. Maybe, if we were lucky, we could fool the guards, who weren't exactly known for their cunning.
The pounding became more insistent. A new voice broke through.
"Why aren't you in there yet? My orders were clear: search the premises and alert me of any suspicious items. Not 'have a nice chat outside the front door'. Get in there."
I froze all over again. Arthur. Merlin looked up and whined.

The dog stared at me. The fur matched Merlin's hair colour perfectly, the eyes were wide and human, and as I watched, the brown pupils faded and were replaced by familiar blue ones. The enchantment was wearing off. He was easily, confusingly recognisable by anyone who had even seen Merlin.
"You'll have to make a run for it, buddy."
He nodded once, and jogged behind the door, his whole body tensed.
"They're not letting us in, my lord."
"Well, you're soldiers! Break down the door! Now!"
There were a few embarrassed apologies, then the heavy, painful-sounding thuds began.
"All right, all right, I'm coming."
The physician descended the short staircase and adjusted his robes before pulling open the door.
"What took you so long?"
Arthur pushed past him without waiting for an answer. He spotted me and gritted his teeth.
"Why are you here, Gwaine? You were supposed to be at the training grounds."
"I had merely offered to give Sir Gwaine a sleeping draught, to help him sleep better."
"You guards, the bedroom is through there."
I adjusted my face to appear innocent. I had never managed it before, but there was no harm in trying. We stood in awkward silence for a few minutes. Then a guard gave a shout.
"I found something, sire! An old roll of parchment and some ink!"
The king marched straight in. I could see him through the doorway, matching the roll to the note Merlin had left. He glanced up triumphantly and stalked back into the center room.
"Been writing letters, Gaius?"
He looked around an instant before Gaius moved to block his line of sight. I could see his eyes widen, his face slacken; he had seen the dog, still wearing that ridiculous red neckerchief.

I heard a scrabble and a rapid thud of paws. Then Arthur was running, running after Merlin, his intentions written clearly on his face. I chased him, leaving the physician in the room, leaving him because I had to stop the crazed king. Merlin was fast; he streaked towards the main gate. Arthur's horse was faster; he had jumped on the first one he had seen and was galloping full-speed over the uneven cobbles. The guards at the gate were startled awake and, seeing a horse bearing down on them, blocked the road. I ran flat-out, nearly falling on my face but plowing on. The race was short.

The dog squeezed beneath their lances and sprinted away, the horse clattered to a stop and Arthur yelled and cursed, red in the face. The people stared. It was over.
I was leaning over, severely out of breath, when I realized I should get out of the way, out of Arthur's hair lest he should remember me, and head to the training grounds. I needed to get the image of Arthur hunting Merlin down out of my eyes.

The knights were wrestling, learning hand-to-hand combat as per Arthur's instructions. The most recently promoted knights watched, in theory to learn and be instructed and in reality placing bets and heckling.
Percival looked up, his face flushed, sweat staining his brow.
"Thought you'd be at the pub, this time of the day."
My expression must have given something away, because he stood up and walked over, completely ignoring Elyan's heroic attempts to tackle him. I went to the edge of the field, sat down and was soon joined by the rest of the gang.
"What's happened?"
"What's wrong?"
"Merlin was here. He came disguised as a dog. Sleeping in his own room, can you believe it? The patrol came, Arthur saw him. Merlin had to run. Arthur chased him away from Camelot. Like he was an enemy."
Silence as they absorbed it. I could feel their small, niggling suspicions, the same I had had, the unwilling knowledge that he might be the enemy, and jumped in before they could say anything. I needed to convince myself as much as them. Merlin's reappearance had done little to drive them back.
"Remember Merlin. Remember the poor sod that did everything he was told, never complaining. The boy that could make Arthur smile. The man that never flinched. He always knew what he was doing, more so than the king. So, he had his secrets. We have ours. It's Arthur that's making you doubt him; who says magic is so evil?"
"I do."
I jumped. The king was standing terrifyingly close, hair slicked back with sweat, still panting. The knights leapt up as one and hurried away, picking up spears and shields, hitting each other absent-mindedly.
"Sire?"
"I don't remember asking you to commit treason, Gwaine. You may have felt that Merlin was your friend, but those days are long over. He played you like a harp. He played us all. Who knows what he's planning? But for now, get over there, and teach those idiots how to fight. Are we clear?"
"Perfectly, my lord."
I ducked away, pleased that he recognised my extensive knowledge of the subject and terrified he was going to behead me while I wasn't looking, he was that angry. I swung a punch at Leon, dodged his reciprocation, and pushed him casually into a pole. Elyan attacked me from the left, and I tripped him up and tipped him gently down the hill. Percival saw me coming, tried to avoid me, and fell down on his own, the dolt. I stood alone on the field, surrounded by fallen enemies. An oddly familiar scene.
The way I saw it, I had the only chance of helping Merlin out. He was sick, dying. If we didn't get the antidote to him in time…
In the midst of these musings, I completely failed to see the shape approaching in the corner of my eye and was knocked down. A clean punch to the ear. As I lay grunting on the grass, a shadow swam in front of my eyes.
"I'm watching you," growled Arthur. "You're not the only clever one here, Gwaine."