Thanks for the positive reviews! It really does encourage me to write more quickly.
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Merlin's POV
It started as a normal day. I woke up and hurriedly put on my clothes because I was late for waking the prat up. For some reason though, my shirt felt weird on my back. I shrugged off the feeling and went down the stairs to grab a sandwich before I left. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Gaius said "Merlin you're-" He cut off and stared at me in shock.
"Gaius, what is it?" I asked. He's acting very strange.
"Blue. You're blue. You're blue and you're eyes are glowing gold." Gaius said.
I looked at my skin only to see that it was a light blue color with turquoise designs decorating it. "G-Gaius…" I started breathing heavily. What is happening to me?! Why am I blue?!
"Shhh, calm down, Merlin. Let's go up to your room and figure out what is going on." I ran upstairs, Gaius following behind, and sat on my bed with my head in my hands.
"G-Gaius. W-what's happening to me?!" I asked, panicked.
"I do not know… Merlin, why is your back twitching?" He asked me.
"W-what?"
"Take off your shirt."
I did as I was told and heard Gaius gasp. I looked over my shoulder to see fairy wings coming out of my back. "G-Gaius!" I knew I was freaking out, but I couldn't help it. I felt my magic seep out of me, making everything around me float. That included Gaius and the bed I was sitting on.
"Merlin! Merlin, calm down! Freaking out won't do anything to help!" Gaius said, managing to make his way to me. "Breathe, Merlin, breathe. In, out. In, out. There you go…" I breathed like he told me to and everything floated gently to the ground.
Then I started panicking again when a familiar voice yelled "Gaius, where is the idiot?"
"Lay down and cover yourself completely with your blanket." Gaius told me and he waited for me to do so before he went down the stairs. "I'm sorry, Sire, but Merlin is sick today. He won't be able to work today." Good story, Gaius. But how long will he be able to keep that story up?
"Alright." Arthur sighed. "But the idiot better be healthy by tomorrow."
I heard the door open and close before my door creaked open. "He's gone, Merlin. I will keep this up as long as I can and we can see if my books say anything. Right now, I fear we may have to sneak you out of the city." Gaius said. Later that day, he brought a huge pile of books up.
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Gaius' POV
A week has passed and we still cannot find anything. None of my books speak of skin turning blue and wings appearing. Merlin has become depressed and fearful; I cannot say I blame him. His magic keeps getting out of control and he is certainly becoming more powerful. Much more powerful. Tonight he is going to meet with Kilgarrah. I can only pray that he will have the answers.
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Merlin's POV
I put on the dark blue cloak that the druids gave me and left the safety of Gaius' chambers. I managed to make it near the gate before "Halt! Who goes there?" two guards stopped me and one spun me around, revealing my blue face and golden eyes. "Monster!" he yelled, swinging his sword at me. I took off running, using my magic to trip the two guards up. When I finally got away from them, I headed back to Gaius'. "Any luck?" he asked me when I came in.
"Didn't even get out of the gates. Two guards happened to catch a blue 'monster' and I barely managed to escape." I said, taking off my cloak.
"Oh, Merlin…" Gaius got up and hugged me, hands rubbing the spot between my wings.
"Arthur's getting frustrated. He won't keep taking me being sick as an excuse." I said.
"We will have to keep looking, then. We will find something, my boy. We will find something." Gaius patted me on the back as I went upstairs to keep reading.
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Next Morning, Merlin's POV
I guess I must have fallen asleep at some point during the night because the next thing I knew, the blankets were being ripped off me and Arthur yelped in shock. I bolted upright and tried to get away from him, falling off my bed in the process. I huddled in the corner, trembling, as Arthur looked me over, sword pointed at me. "M-Merlin?" He asked hesitantly. Gaius was standing in the doorway, paler than I have ever seen him.
"A-Arthur… I-I" I stuttered.
"What happened? Who did this to you?" He asked, lowering his sword to his side.
"I-I don't know. I w-woke up like this s-several d-days ago… I don't know what's happening to me!" I started crying, hugging my knees to my chest. "I was already a freak and now I'm a monster!" I sobbed harder.
"Merlin, look at me." I felt Arthur's hand on my shoulder. I looked up and met his blue eyes. "Never think that. You are not a monster." Gaius left as Arthur's words helped me a bit. I didn't feel like I was as much of a monster… but the guards from last night… They only looked at me and called me a monster. As if reading my mind, Arthur said "The guards from last night… They say they saw a blue monster… Merlin, were you trying to leave Camelot?"
"I'll be killed if I stay. And… maybe there're some druids who would know what is happening to me." I said.
"I'd never let you be killed!"
"It's not just you! The older knights, the townspeople, the nobles. They'd all kill me!"
"I would never let them… but I do see where you are coming from. I could say we are going on a hunt while we go to see the druids? I may have a cloak that is large enough to hide your skin…" Arthur said, contemplatively. Most of the plan works…
"I have a cloak that will work, but won't people wonder why you aren't bringing any knights?"
Arthur sighed. "Maybe… if you're alright with it, of course… I could bring the knights and we could tell them on the way?"
My head shot up from my knees and I turned to face him "No! No, no, no, no, no. They can't know!"
"Merlin, they'd accept you! Most of them are far more loyal to you than they are to me. I will swear them to secrecy beforehand and any of them who do not accept you will be told to make their own way back to Camelot. If they tell, I will have them executed for treason." Arthur tried to reason.
"No! They should not be killed for that. I don't want anyone to die because of the beliefs they have been taught to have… But I guess I can tell them…"
"Alright then! All's settled. We'll ride out in two hours and I'll have another servant prepare the supplies. Oh, and, Merlin-" Arthur hugged me before he got up and went to the door, "everything will be alright. I swear it." And, somehow, I believed him.
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Arthur's POV
Just like I'd said, we rode out two hours after I talked to Merlin. When we made camp that night, I stood up and everyone looked at me. "I'm sure you all have figured out that this is no hunting trip and that you've noticed Merlin is wearing a cloak that hides his skin. He gave me his permission to tell you why, this morning. Something has occurred that appears to have turned Merlin's skin blue and his eyes gold. We are going to the druids to see if they know why this has happened to him. Do any of you have objections?" I asked, looking at my knights for any doubt or hesitance. No one objected.
"Just one question, Merlin: Do you have magic?" Gwaine asked. Merlin froze and I felt his eyes on me.
"Merlin, you will not be punished." I told him.
"Y-yes… I don't know how."
"You got it when you turned blue?" I asked him.
He looked down as if he was ashamed. "N-no. I don't know how, but I was born with it. No one has ever been born with magic before. I'm a freak and a monster…" he said, hugging himself.
I saw a tear fall from under his hood and went over to him, wincing as he flinched, and hugged him tightly. "What did I say before? You are not a monster and never let anyone tell you otherwise. You are not a freak, either; simply different. And, face it Merlin, it's not your magic that makes you different: it's your heart. I don't know anyone who is more pure-hearted than you are. Don't you ever forget that."
He sniffed and said "Thank you… Who's the girl now, clotpole?"
We pulled away and he wiped his eyes. "Probably the one who's crying." I said, lightly punching his shoulder.
"Awww, that was cute!" Gwaine said.
"Shut up!" I smacked Gwaine upside the head.
"We should probably get some sleep. The camp isn't too far away, but the past times I have visited were always exhausting." Merlin said and we all fell asleep.
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Arthur's POV, Next Day
"How much farther?" Elyan asked me as we rode over yet another hill.
"Merlin?" I directed the question to him.
"Isledir said he and one other will come and meet us at the top of this hill." Merlin said, pointing to the top. "I told him to look for the cloak that he gave me so that he could tell it was us."
When we reached the top of the hill, we dismounted but no one was there. At least, not that we could see. "Merlin!" Someone yelled and Merlin found himself tackled into a hug by a young looking man.
"Gilly?!" Merlin asked back, not realizing his hood fell down.
"Wow, what happened to you?" Gilly asked as they both sat up.
"I don't know. I was hoping someone at the camp would have the answer." Merlin looked up at Isledir.
Isledir looked down at Merlin, a sympathetic expression on his face. "I know what is happening, but the prophecies never mentioned this…"
"What? What is happening to me?" Merlin asked, standing up.
"Emrys, it seems that you are a fae." Isledir said in a grim voice.
Merlin's eyes grew wide "W-what? B-but I know my mother and I got the gift of the dragon lord from my father! A-and fae are evil!"
"The fae have been known to give away their children and they have shown the abilities of a dragon lord. It would also explain your magic. The fae are raised by fae and, therefore, are taught to be evil. You, however, were raised as a human and, therefore, you were taught to be good. Being a fae does not make you evil, Emrys." Isledir said.
Merlin looked down. "Well, at least I know how I was born with magic… My mother has a lot of questions to answer though." He said. Well, looks like we're going to Ealdor…
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The end for now, but I'll write more of this later.