hello no you are not going mad. this is the next chapter. spooky right? so um yes. this is a sequal to knight, warlock, prince. so it would probably help if you read that first. so if you are readign this chapter you have probably read the prolog but just in case quick recap. uthur wiht his dieing breath accepted merlin and his magic, arthur is now king and merlin, his blood brother, a makeshift prince, morganna has been banished for her part in uthurs death at the end of the privious story. merlin has been joined in camelot by his long lost sister, what follows is the contunueing adventures of our gang as they try and adjust to their new roles.

also, i dont own merlin (bah humbug) this story (not this chapter) will have occasional gore and mentions of dificult subjects in places hence the rating. some things in the rest of this story may be confusing so i'll try and clarify a couple of things at the bottom of this.

a dawn of greatness

Arthur was pacing his chambers erratically. Gwen was standing to one side patiently her maid Ellen was standing by the door her head bowed in respect. If anyone looked closely, they would see she was shaking. Among the maids it had been widely accepted that prince Arthur was a very handsome man, most maids couldn't be with in twenty foot of him with out blushing, as well as that every servant knew of the lady Gwen, she was their idol, a servant who befriended the once lady Morganna and whose voice would always be heard by the prince, her love and devotion was such that king uthur himself saw to it that she was made a noble. After nearly a year of being Gwen's maid she had seen both at their best and at their worse. But the fact remained that Arthur was still extremely handsome, but at the moment her head wasn't bowed to hide a blush, or out of respect, it was to hide the fact she was trying not to laugh as Gwen calmly and repeatedly scolded Arthur for scuffing his new boots and creasing his ceremonial clothes. She already sounded like an exasperated wife.

Gwen sighed. "For goodness sake my love, stop pacing!" she shouted. Arthur stumbled to a halt. "Sorry your right I just have all this extra energy I need to work off." He said with an apologetic shrug. It was at this moment that Merlin came bursting into the room waving a piece of parchment, hew tripping over himself trying to keep up with his master. "What is this? Today is your coronation, not mine!" he flapped the paper about to emphasise his point. Arthur stood there blinking before he burst out laughing. Hew quietly made his way to stand next to Ellen, he glanced at her briefly and saw her struggling not to laugh, he raised an eyebrow at her before rolling his eyes. The two of them standing quietly in the corner while Arthur and Merlin bickered with Gwen acting as referee, was a common occurrence for the two servants.

"Ah Merlin you got my letter then? Good, good. Is that what you're wearing? Didn't you see the ceremonial clothes I sent for you?" Arthur was clearly trying not to laugh now. "I am not getting crowned today! Its your coronation!" Arthur chuckled "if I am to be king the kingdom will need a prince, a crowned prince." Merlin sighed. "Take Gwaine then! He's your cousin!" Gwen laughed and Arthur answered. "He is my tavern loving cousin who has no wish to be royalty, yet, he is still getting used to being a noble. One will of course award him his rightful place by my side." Merlin smiled thinking he had won the argument. "But not until he is ready." Merlin slumped. "And you think I am? Ready?" Gwen sat herself on the trunk at the base of Arthur's bed, and leant forward interested to see what Arthur would say.

"Of course you are, you have accepted that it is your destiny to stand by my side protecting me from what I can not fight. You are Emrys I am the once and future king." Arthur stepped forward laying a hand on Merlin's forearm, he looked the warlock in the eye. "It is you and me brother, side by side until the end." It was said with such sincerity that the previously gigglesome servants went totally still and Gwen found she couldn't breath. "You called me brother" Merlin said eventually in a quiet voice. Arthur smiled at the young man in front of him. "From this day forth you are. Not through birth but, we are two sides of the same coin brother. Our souls are twins." Merlin laughed.

"You called me it again" Arthur laughed with him this time. "What can I say I enjoy calling you brother, what are you going to do about it Broth-er" Gwen giggled when Arthur said brother the way he normally said Merlin. Merlin raised an eyebrow. "You and me side by side, soul mates? What does your lady love have to say about that? Surely it is the wife who should be the soul mate." Gwen skipped to her feet and glided over to kiss Merlin on the cheek. "I've always known your souls were twins that you belonged side by side. You take his right side I'll take the left." She stepped back before winking at Merlin "besides I like the thought of you being my brother in law some day." She curtseyed and left the room followed by her maid.

Hew stepped forward ready to follow any orders Merlin had for him he was about to ask Merlin if there was anything he needed to do when Ellen poked her head round the door. "The lady Gwen asked me to tell you hurry up sires, she says it wouldn't do to miss your own ceremonies" she bowed her head respectfully and disappeared again. Hew muttered something under his breath and dismissed himself. Merlin turned to Arthur. "Do I really have to wear the outfit?" he asked with disdain. "Yes Merlin. Don't worry, I'll never make you wear it again, I'll let you wear anything you want, hell I'll even let you wear a big pointy hat if that's your prerogative." Merlin growled at the regent "don't tempt me, a nice big pointy hat would be a good thing to hit you with, brother" with that he hastened out of the chamber.

"Stop fidgeting sire," Merlin glared at hew, "sorry, stop fidgeting my lord." Merlin smiled, he still refused to be called sire by his servant but had relented and conceded to being referred to as M'lord when they were in public or hew was addressing him formally. "Its uncomfortable I fail to see what was wrong with my normal clothes." He said as he tried to use his magic to sense what was through the door. "M'lord your normal clothes are just slightly cleaner nicer version of what you wore as a servant" "and?" hew laughed at his master's retort. "And today is he day you become crown prince, it is mandatory for you to wear what you are wearing." Merlin sighed defeated. "I brought you your ceremonial sword" hew said in an overly bright tone. "Is that for me to fall on" Merlin replied absentmindedly. "I hope not" his servant answered with a slight smile, he had heard from others of the conversation Arthur and Merlin had had a few years ago. Merlin laughed quietly "those are my words" he said, hew nodded as he fastened the sword and scabbard around Merlin's waist. "Yes they are, I believe you then said something about destinies being troublesome things, something about choosing paths. Well this is the path you and the king chose." Merlin nodded. "When did you get so smart?" "I read one of your books M'lord" they smiled at each other. Merlin liked having Hew as a servant, he was the kind of servant Merlin had been, unafraid to speak his mind when needed but willing to quietly observe from the back ground as well. "Right well, now is the day it changes this is it hew, this is the dawn of Albion, and you are a part of it." Merlin straightened up and stepped to the door, waiting for it to open. He herd the chant of long live the king and he and hew joined in.

Arthur looked behind him, he hadn't seen Merlin since the morning, it felt odd not having him here but duty and tradition stated that the king be corrinated alone and separate to any prince. It meant Merlin would miss the coronation. As the door opened for him he realised something, Merlin would miss a shiny crown placed on his head but would witness an entire reign after that, by his side as his brother. He smiled as he walked down the long throne room towards Geoffrey of Monmouth. He knelt down in front of the thrones. "Do you solemnly swear to protect the people of this land and do everything in your power to keep them safe" "I solemnly swear to do so."

"Do you solemnly swear to rule with compassion and strength and to up hold the laws of the land" "I solemnly swear to do so." Arthur could feel his heart pounding hard and fast he realised he was holding his breath as Geoffrey finished.

"Then by the power vested in me I pronounce you Arthur, king of Camelot." The crown was placed on his head and he rose to his feet turning to look out at his people, a chorus of "long live the king!" broke out and he smiled as he saw Gwen standing in the front row with his special squad of knights cheering him on.

When the cheers died down he held up a hand in acknowledgement. "My lords, my ladies, my people, my friends, I thank you, and I promise to strive to be the king you deserve." The room went entirely silent. "my sister, would seek to enslave you, my father died protecting you, there was a time I feared this day for I knew I would have no family left to give me council." The crowd was awed by his humble and frank words this was the first time any had heard a royal say such things. Arthur smiled. "But then a man came to Camelot and he showed me, when your family is small and getting smaller you make one from your friendships. And so, my first act as king is to present to you, prince Merlin!" as he said this a murmur spread through the room as people craned their necks to look to the entrance when the door opened.

Merlin stepped forward as hew slipped in behind him unnoticed and worked his way to the side of the room. Merlin wore chainmail with a vibrant red tunic underneath his trousers were the blackest back and he wore polished boots that reached mid-calf, he wore a cape with the pendragon crest on and had a ceremonial sword fastened to his waist, the scabbard of which was engraved with a mix of oak leaf, ivy, and druidic symbols denoting protection and wisdom he looked, regal. Arthur smiled as he saw Merlin stride towards him in full pendragon regalia, looking every bit the prince he was. Merlin slowed as he reached the thrones. He knelt down in front of Arthur, earning an amused smile from the king, as he used magic to make his cape fall perfectly.

"Do you swear to defend the people of this land." Arthur asked as a rod was brought to him "I swear to do so" Merlin answered and was handed the golden rod. "and do you swear to do so with honour and respect for all" 'I swear to do so" Merlin uttered only now realising what was about to happen, the slim silvery banded crown was placed on his head, he noticed a marble like material inlayed in the crown that seamed to glow in the sunlight, if he though the surprises were over for the day he was mistaken, for Arthur then said the words that changed everything forever. "Then arise, prince Merlin pendragon vanguard, brother of the king." There was a shocked gasp through out the room, none gathered had known how Merlin would be referred to, Gwen squealed with delight as her brother pulled her into a hug laughing happily others cheered, and then Gwaine looked across at Tristain and in unison they shouted "god bless the prince!" the call was taken up by others and soon the whole throne room was shouting it. Merlin moved and stood to Arthur's right hand side, his friend, his right hand man, his prince, his brother. He smiled when he saw hew pass a clean handkerchief to Hunith who was sobbing happy tears, it was done she had done it, she had raised her son and kept him safe, she had made the prophesy come to pass, her son was Emrys and now, now she would see what the once and future king could truly achieve with Merlin at his side.

so? hi how you all doing? lovely weather we're having isn't it. hope you liked the chapter. some of you will have guessed what it is on merlins crown but the rest of you will find out within the next couple of chapters. ok to clarify things:

arthur: king of camelot. 'the king'

merlin: crowned prince etc. "the prince' etc

morganna: morgan. 'the witch'

merlins sister: Bellanor.

thats about it for now i think um OH! also, merlin is in a relation ship with sir Tristain (no not that one, the other one, what no the other other one) so yes this is slash, but hopefully even of you aren';t a huge fan of it it is gentle enough for you to enjoy everything else that is happening around it. next chapter up at some point this week. probably...

also, i am dyslexic so it is possible some spelling and gramma mistakes have escaped my notice, i do appologise.

reviews are wonderful aren't they? they are like little drops of sunshine, even the negitive ones are like manure to fertilise my muse-tree. so do please review if you'd like...