I do not own Merlin.

Chapter Two

That night, when I heard a knock on my door, I put down my spell book and got up to open the door, revealing Roland.

"It is good to see you again, my lord," Roland said as he bowed.

"No need for that, Roland, we're friends. And you know I never really liked all this bowing and 'my lord' stuff anyway," I led him inside. Roland was at the druid camp I stayed with those months away from Camelot. I hadn't seen him since I'd left. "How are you, old friend? How's the camp?" I asked as we sat down.

"We are doing well, especially now that magic is legal. It should be much easier to get the supplies that we need," Roland said.

"That's true. I'm glad you're well."

"What of you, Lord Emrys?" Roland asked curiously.

"I'm well. Though it's been hard to pretend I'm someone else, I know it's for the good of my friends and of Camelot," I confessed.

"Why not just tell the king?"

"I was slated for execution."

"Except magic is legal now," Roland pointed out.

I sighed, "I plan to tell him after the trials. I want to win or lose this by my own ability." Roland nodded in understanding. He bid me good night, we had to start the second trial early in the morning.

-o-

"For your next trial," Lady Morgana announced with a smirk, "You'll each be fighting one-on-one with a knight. Using swords and no magic."

We were immediately confused. Fake Me asked the question on all our minds, "Why?"

"To test your skills in combat," Arthur replied.

"But wouldn't we be using magic if we had to fight?" I asked. At least this explained why we were on the training field.

"Unless you couldn't use your magic," Sir Gwaine piped up. "Come on, mate, it'll be fun. Besides, no use arguing with the Princess!"

"Alright, Gwaine you'll be fighting Robin. Lancelot take Roland, and Percival you get Merlin," Arthur grinned. I suspected he thought a fight between Percival and "me" would be extremely entertaining. Gwaine handed me a sword then lunged straight toward me. I somehow managed to block the blow, though just barely. I'd always been rubbish at sword fighting. I swung my sword at the knight who dodged easily and hit me on the shoulder with the hilt of his sword.

I stumbled, tried to attack the knight again, and was knocked to the ground. The whole fight lasted less than a minute. Fake Me wasn't doing much better. I saw Percival pin him down soon after I fell. Roland, on the contrary, was doing rather well. He and Lancelot were trading even blows until Roland caught the knight off-guard and knocked him to the ground. Arthur clapped his hands and walked over to us as the winners helped their opponents to their feet.

"Congratulations, Roland and Merlin. Rest up tonight; tomorrow you'll have a magic duel and I'll choose my Court Sorcerer." Arthur placed a hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry, Robin." I sunk to my knees, I couldn't believe I was out of the competition. That fake had beaten me!

"My lord, I could forfeit my place for you," Roland spoke in my mind.

I shook my head, "No. You advanced fair and square." Roland didn't looked too pleased about it, but respected my wishes.

-o-

I was heading to bed after talking to Roland when I heard footsteps. I hid in an alcove and waited—there! What was Fake Me doing out of bed? Was that a knife in his hand? I followed him to Roland's chambers. A few seconds after the door shut, I went in after him—Fake Me was standing above Roland, poised to strike him straight through the heart.

I acted quickly, freezing the impostor with magic and rushing to the druid's side. Roland startled awake, realized what was happening, and dipped his head to me.

"Thank you, Lord Emrys."

"What did I say?" I chastised him. Roland realized his mistake as Fake Me's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, my lord," Roland said.

"It doesn't matter. What should we do with the fake?"

"Take him to the king?" Roland offered.

"It's getting late, but you're right, he'll want to know about this. Can you grab him?" I said, nodding to the impersonator. Roland grabbed the man who was still frozen with magic as I led the way to the king's chambers. I knocked, slipping into my polite servant's tone again.

"Your Majesty?" I called. Arthur called back for us to enter; he must not have been sleeping.

"What is it, Robin?" he asked.

"Sire, I caught this man trying to kill Roland," I told him.

Arthur stood up immediately, "What?!" He took a moment to collect himself, drawing a deep breath, "Tell the guards to take him to the dungeons, Robin make sure he is magically secure so he cannot leave. We'll deal with this in the morning."

"Yes, my lord," I bowed and we left the room. I didn't sleep well that night, and I suspect Roland and Arthur didn't either.

-o-

The next morning Roland, Arthur, Morgana, the Knights of the Round Table, and I stood in Fake Me's cell in the dungeons.

"Why, Merlin?" was all Arthur could ask.

I stepped forward, "Sire, if I may, I don't think he's really Merlin."

"What makes you say that?" Leon asked.

I hesitated, "A few things…"

"Such as?" Elyan pressed.

"Well…" I wasn't sure what to say. "Point is, he appears to be wearing a magical disguise."

"Can you prove this?" Arthur questioned.

"I should be able to remove it."

"Then do it," the king challenged.

I put my hand on Fake Me's shoulder, concentrating on the spell. I sighed heavily. Great. "It's a strong enchantment; I'll have to break all the enchantments in the room to undo it."

"What's stopping you?" Lady Morgana asked.

"For one thing, he won't be bound anymore. Also, I may be wearing a disguise too."

"What would you need with a disguise?" Gwaine questioned.

"That's a bit hard to explain," I muttered.

"What's so hard about it?" Lancelot asked.

Fake Me laughed, "Don't you see? This man is no mere servant! He's been playing you. Haven't you, Lord Emrys?"

"How dare you mock the most powerful sorcerer this world has ever known?" Roland demanded.

"Roland, please," I tried to calm my friend and he backed off, though was obviously still angry.

Gwaine raised his hands, "Now hold on, mate, what exactly is going on? Did he just call you Emrys? Isn't that the guy who was claiming to be 'magic incarnate' and all that nonsense?"

"That man was a liar," Roland defended.

This was getting out of hand, so I set to work removing the enchantments. "Merlin" changed into a tall blonde man; Percival grabbed him when he tried to run away. Of course, my own enchantment was removed too, and I appeared as my old self. As Merlin.

"Well, I'm confused," Gwaine laughed.

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-Vi