Chapter 1—Repeated

Merlin is snoring very loudly in his room—Arthur had worked him pretty hard that day and he was not going to give up the opportunity to sleep.

Then the warning bell rings, knocking him awake.

"No!" he cries stuffing his pillow around his ears. "No!"

Gaius who has been awake with experimenting bursts into his room.

"Merlin!" Gaius cries.

"I'm moving to a quieter kingdom," Merlin declares into his mattress. "Forget destiny—I just want a decent night's rest."

"There's an intruder," Gaius tells him. "Arthur will need you."

Merlin groans and rolls out of bed. "Of course Arthur will need me," Merlin mutters as he pulls on his clothes. "Arthur always needs me he just never acknowledges that he does. Then I save his life, our destiny continues to ensue, and I get no credit for allowing it to continue and la-dee-da I get bullied come back to bed and get woken up by the warning bell and start all over again."

"Regardless," Gaius said solemnly. "The intruder has been detected in the citadel."

Merlin groans and stalks quickly through the chambers until breaking into a run when he hears grunts and swords clashing.

He reaches the citadel's courtyard and sees a dark and fast figure running away from an unconscious Sir Leon and Sir Dresban. Merlin runs to the men and check's their pulse—they're still alive, just unconscious from a heavy blow. Sir Leon's nose is bleeding and his right cheek is already swelling.

"Are they all right?" Gaius calls out.

"Tend to them—they're alive," Merlin says as he runs after the fast figure.

"Merlin!" Gaius shouts.

Merlin runs as fast as he can after the figure through the servant's tunnels. How they know about them, Merlin has no idea. He thinks of using magic to stop the figure, but soon the tunnels erupt to the castle corridors and he cannot risk it.

The figure is so fast and so far away from him now.

"You!" Merlin shouts through his breaths. Just then Carolyn—a handmaiden—knocks over a candelabra and ignites a tapestry on fire while continuing to run. The figure hesitates, looking at the scene with thought of doing something about it, then continues on around a corner.

Merlin chases after the figure still and then finds that the figure has disappeared. Merlin looks around.

He whispers for an incantation and light appears in the dark corridor—a dead end. The intruder knows the castle.

Merlin spins when he hears the crackle of fire and the falling of wood and runs back to where the fire was started. As he runs he grabs a bucket that had previously held water abandoned on the floor and reaches the scene.

He looks around as the fire licks the disintegrating tapestry and sees that there is no one in sight of the corridor. Then he turns to the growing fire and raises an open hand. Saying an incantation, his eyes glowing with golden magic, the fire diminishes quickly as his hand runs down the height of the flames. Then Merlin sharply closes his fist and the fire and its light is sucks like a power vortex into Merlin's hand.

He grunts in pain and his eyes flash again. Looking at his palm he sees that it's burned painfully in a perfect circle with several licks that cause the burn to look like the sun from the spell and shakes his head.

"That one's not perfect yet," he mutters.

"Merlin!"

Merlin looks over his shoulder and sees Arthur stalking with a serious face down the hall. The king looks at the destroyed and fire charred wall.

"What the hell happened here?" Arthur asks urgently.

"Fire," Merlin says simply and sarcastically. He raises his bucket slightly. "Got it."

"Well, yes, well done Merlin," Arthur says sarcastically. "And did you allow to intruder to run right past you?"

"I was chasing the intruder!" Merlin cries. "He was very, very fast and disappeared on me! I came back to put out the fire."

Arthur sighs and shakes his head. "You probably started it, you nitwit," he says. Then he sees Merlin's burned hand. "Let Gaius take a look at that later. For now, which way did he go?"

"That's the problem, I don't know," Merlin says wincing at the still searing burn. He gestured toward where he lost the intruder. "He was over there when he disappeared, but Arthur he's probably long gone by now."

Arthur turns on his heel with the two guards that followed him and stalks where Merlin pointed out. "That's your problem, Merlin, you give up too easily," Arthur said shaking his head.

"No, Arthur, what I mean is that this man knew what he was doing," Merlin said urgently as he followed Arthur to the corner. "He was fast and he knew where he was going. Not only that, but he took down Sir Leon and Sir Dresban in less than a single stroke."

Arthur stops and looks at Merlin in the eye. "He killed them?" he says aghast—Sir Leon is a very good fighter.

"No," Merlin says more seriously. "That's the problem—he didn't. He could have very easily have killed them both but he didn't. He knocked them out with more power, agility and precision then I've ever seen."

Arthur blinks and looks at the dead end. Arthur shakes his head. "He could be using magic," Arthur says. "It's the only explanation."

"No," Merlin says surely. "He's too good—had he used magic he wouldn't have been caught."

"What do you know about magic, Merlin?" Arthur says insultingly, looking at Merlin.

Every time a moment like that occurs, Merlin is tempted to tell Arthur once and for all that he is magical. Not just magic, but a powerful sorcerer meant to protect Arthur for the creation of Albian. He is Emrys.

"I know what Gaius has told me," Merlin says instead. "It's true though—you know I'm right."

Arthur shakes his head and turns, walking forward toward the front of the castle. "Have every able man searching for this man and what he came here for," Arthur says speaking to the guards now. "Ensure that every gate, every hold is sealed off and all other persons away in their chambers. Search every room—even mine—to find this intruder. I want to know why and how he was able to get into Camelot."

"Yes, Sire."

The guards went off and Arthur walks over with Merlin to where Gaius and Gwyn were tending to Sir Leon and Sir Dresban. Arthur looks immediately to Gwyn.

"Are you all right?" he asks tenderly. She nods and looks down to Dresban whom she was taking the chainmail by his shoulder off—blacksmith's daughter.

"They were knocked unconscious, Sire," Gaius says. His brow is furrowed, "in the most incredible way possible."

"What makes you say that, Gaius?" Arthur asks kneeling next to Leon.

"Sir Dresban here was hit directly in a spot that renders him unconscious—a nerve that is in a certain place on his neck and shoulder that takes incredible skill, knowledge and strength to knock a man of his size out cold," Gaius explains. "He'll be out until morning and where he was hit is already swelling."

Sure enough, the area between Dresban's neck and shoulder is very red, mildly purple and getting larger by the minute. His head lolls as Gwyn moves him.

"And Sir Leon?"

"His face was smashed," Gaius says. "It was a more desperate blow than Sir Dresban's. Sir Leon began—and had the chance to—defend himself, but the attacker evidently hit the hilt of a sword into his face. His nose is broken and will take a while to heal, but he should come to soon to tell the whole story."

Arthur nods sternly. "Right," he says. He eyes a speculative Gaius. "Is there something else?"

Gaius blinks rapidly and shakes his head. "No, Sire," he says. "Nothing."

Merlin knows Gaius better and resolves to ask him about his mind later, but for now Arthur had orders for Merlin—the great sorcerer and servant to the king.