Chapter Four

The strange trio were heading towards the door when Arthur and The Doctor noticed that Merlin seemed to be mumbling things under his breath. Arthur distinctively heard something about boots with buckles but the rest sounded jumbled.

"What are you going on about Merlin? Ever since you changed out of your clothes you've been babbling away incoherently. Were your clothes magical and helping you communicate so that we could understand you?"

As Arthur finished speaking he could see Merlin trying to suppress a grin.

"No Arthur, my mumbling ability is all my own work. I see that your clothes weren't controlling your prattishness because you are just the same now."

The Doctor couldn't resist a small smile at this exchange although there was a puzzled look on his face.

"If you two have quite finished I would like to hear what is bothering you Merlin."

"Why do I have to wear these things? Can't I have Arthur's boots and he can wear the ones with buckles on? I don't see why I have to wear this stupid scarf either."

"I think the colour suits you Merlin" Arthur said with a grin on his face.

"You'll soon see why" The Doctor replied, "that's if we ever get through this door".

Chapter Five

The sight that confronted them as they opened the door was entirely different to the one they had left behind when they first walked in through the Tardis doors.

"Is this a trick? Arthur asked, "How can we be here?"

"No Arthur it is not a trick. I told you before that my Tardis can travel through time and space" replied The Doctor. Humans often didn't listen especially when he told them to wait somewhere. It seemed to trigger the opposite response. He made a mental note not to ask Merlin and Arthur to wait at any time as nothing good would come from it.

"Doctor" Merlin said with a hint of worry in his voice, "won't someone notice a blue phone box in the middle of a forest? They might not even have phones here yet."

"Don't worry Merlin" said The Doctor in what he hoped was a calming voice, "it will just blend in. You can see it but you don't want to see it, look for yourself."

Merlin turned around and looked at what appeared to be a 1960's wooden police box. Within seconds his eyes drifted away and he found himself looking at the large oak tree that was only inches away from the tardis.

"It's called a perception filter. It should allow my tardis to stay unnoticed so I can take you home."

Arthur noticed that The Doctor had put a lot of emphasis on the word 'should' but realised that he had no choice but to put his trust in the timelord. His brain was already overloaded with an unbelievable amount of information and new experiences, adding the possibility of never seeing the 21st century again would be far too much to contend with.

"So do you know where we are?" The Doctor asked, trying and failing to read their facial reactions.

Just as they were about to ask how they could tell where they were when they were surrounded by nothing but trees they spotted movement ahead. The Doctor paled more and more as each second passed.

"I can't believe it, I've gone too far back, I don't know what to do."

Merlin and Arthur would have been more concerned about The Doctor's muttering if they hadn't been so shocked at what was in front of them.

Chapter Six

Merlin and Arthur stood totally transfixed by the two people walking towards them. Merlin was startled to see that one of the men was wearing exactly the same clothes as he was whilst the other was wearing chainmail and had a sword in his hand. They were too far away to get a clear view of their faces but there was something familiar about them.

It was impossible to tell which of the men looked the most shocked as they came within clear sight of each other. It was like looking into a mirror, they were identical in almost every way. The only difference was that Arthur was not wearing chainmail.

"What sort of trickery is this?" shouted the man in the chainmail, "there must be sorcery at work here." He turned to The Doctor before saying "You look familiar, have we met before?"

"Yes we have but I looked different then. I can't remember which version of me it was though. I'm sure I'll remember in time" The Doctor answered confidently.

"I don't understand," Arthur said, "why do they look like us?"

"Well, think of it like this, you are like twins separated in time, though really it is nothing like that at all. I thought it would be easier to say that as you humans like to have an explanation even if it is the wrong one."

The Doctor stood before the four men, his head darting rapidly between them as if he suspected an answer would materialise on one of their faces.

"You just referred to us as humans as if you are not one yourself. Are you some sort of magical creature in human form?"

The man in the chainmail, who looked exactly like Arthur, stared at The Doctor as he waited for a reply to his question.

"I'm not human nor am I magical. I am a timelord, the last of my kind. The box you can see there is my time machine though it travels in space too. I'm over 900 years old and I have seen many things beyond your comprehension. Arriving here was a mistake, I wanted to arrive when you were king and not crown prince and that Merlin was not just your servant but court sorcerer."

"How can that be Merlin the famous sorcerer? He looks nothing like him. He isn't old and he doesn't even have a beard!"

Arthur looked at both Merlin's. They were identical in every way, even the folds of the ridiculous scarves they were wearing were perfectly matched.

"What do you mean when you say I haven't even got a beard? How do you know who I am and what is this talk about me being a sorcerer? Magic is banned in Camelot, why would the court even need a sorcerer anyway?"

The chainmailed man, who they now realised was Arthur, stared at his Merlin. "You don't hide your magic very well do you Merlin. I have known about it for a while now. I had hoped that you would have realised that I am not my father. You should know that I wouldn't let anything happen to you. I ended up in the cells for defying my father's direct orders when I got the morteus flower and I drank what I thought was poison on the beach to save your life. I would never tell my father about you, I couldn't bear not having you by my side, though my chambers would be considerably cleaner."

"You might be crown prince of Camelot Arthur but you are still a gigantic prat" the sorcerer replied.

"I thought I was a dollophead, I didn't realise I was still prince of prats" Arthur said trying and failing to hide a grin.

"You will always be the prince of prats, well you will be until you are king when you will become king prat of Camelot and a worthy leader."

The other men stared and couldn't help but laugh at the banter between them. Their trust and belief in each other shone brighter than any star in the sky.

"My Arthur is a prat too. He always thinks he is better than everyone else and refuses to admit when he's wrong. He won't listen to advice either even though deep down he knows it makes sense. I don't know how or why we put up with them."

Both Merlins began to share stories about their own Arthurs to each other interjected with bursts of laughter. Both Arthurs were curious about what was being said but neither of them really wanted to know.

The Doctor looked at the two Arthurs and the two Merlins with a ponderous look on his face.

"Hmm this is going to be tricky. I mean I know who I am as there's only one of me but how will you know who you are? More importantly, how will I know which is which? Perhaps you could be past and future or old and new."

We're all here in the present day so we can't be past and future" replied one Arthur "and we are all new to each other so that wouldn't work either Doctor" replied the other.

All four men jumped as The Doctor leapt up in the air with glee exclaiming "I've got it, I know who you can be" speaking like an excited child viewing their presents on Christmas morning, "you can be Tardis Merlin and Arthur or Arthur T and Merlin T for short!"

Just as Merlin was about to ask what a Tardis was Arthur started to gesture wildly with his hands. The other four men heard the noise that had attracted Arthur's attention and soon realised that the wild arm waving meant 'RUN!'

Chapter Seven

The five men ran like their lives depended on it as there was a distinct possibility that was exactly what it meant. Both Merlins ran so fast that they could have outrun a cheetah. The Doctor had plenty of experience when it came to running away from potential danger and without his heavy and cumbersome armour the crown prince ran quickly too. Despite being on all the sports teams Arthur T had never found cross country running easy and this was far more intense than any run he'd been made to do. Inevitably he lost his footing and fell heavily, banging his head on a tree trunk as he hit the ground.

"Gwaine, I've found him" shouted one of the men who had been chasing them. "We need to get him to Gaius" he said as he effortlessly scooped Arthur T up in his huge arms and carried him to his own waiting horse. "He can ride with me, we must leave now, he has been injured."

"Where's Merlin? He's always by his side. Do you think he might be lying injured somewhere Percival?"

"You know Merlin as well as I do Gwaine and we both know he is perfectly able to defend himself. He will never forgive us if we don't take Arthur back to Camelot though. We both know how many times Merlin has saved his life never once stopping to think about the risk to himself."

"I don't think Arthur realises how lucky he is to have Merlin, he never seems to see the devotion in his eyes and I'm sure he doesn't know Merlin's true feelings. It is no secret that I tried to woo Merlin when I first came to Camelot but I soon realised that I could never compare to Arthur. It's hard for me to see the devastation on his face when Arthur speaks of loving another. It takes all I have not to grab him by the shoulders and tell him that he really is a prat if he can't see how much he is already loved. I'm sure Arthur feels something too and they do spend a lot of time together."

"Gwaine, I think that's the most I've ever heard you say without a drink in your hand! We can talk again when we return, our priority is to get Arthur back to Camelot."

Chapter Eight

After hearing Arthur T fall the remaining men had all run back to see if he needed any help. The Doctor, Arthur and the two Merlins emerged from behind several thick trees covered in leaves as they had to dive down on the ground to prevent them from being seen.

Arthur was in a state of complete shock. All the men had heard the exchange between Gwaine and Percival. Merlin was pacing backwards and forwards not knowing how Arthur would react after hearing of his deep feelings for him. He seemed to be very troubled and was mumbling things under his breath.

"I don't know what to do. I can't leave my Arthur, it is my destiny to protect him and I would gladly give my life to do so. I can't leave the other Arthur either as he won't know where he is or anyone around him and Uther might suspect that sorcery has taken his mind. Someone needs to be there for him and it's not like anyone would notice anything different as I'm always doing things for him anyway."

Arthur noticed a single tear rolling down Merlin's cheek. He reached forward and gently wiped it with his thumb. "I think I should be the one in tears Merlin, I have to cope with two of you. At least you have only one of me." The corner of Merlin's mouth twitched slightly upwards as Arthur continued, "Is what Gwaine and Percival spoke about true? Do you really have feelings for me?"

Merlin didn't have to say a word, the love and devotion in his eyes were clear to see and Arthur realised he might feel the same way too.

"What should I do Arthur? I don't want to leave you but he needs me too."

Arthur put his hands on Merlin's shoulders and drew the shocked man into a hug. "Go to him" he whispered, "he needs you. I promise I won't let anything happen to me."

Merlin looked into Arthur's eyes and gently kissed his lips before running in the same direction that Arthur T had been taken only moments before.