Thank you to those of you who reviewed- This Guy, lilyflower1345, and CaptainAlias- as well as everyone else who gave it a chance despite my poor title and summary writing skills. I really appreciate it.
Merlin took a deep breath and tried to calm down before he opened the door to Arthur's chambers. They would have come for me already if Gwen had said anything. He reasoned with himself. I have nothing to worry about. But still, he worried. With another deep breath he pushed open the door and plastered a smile on his face. "Dinner!" he called and set the tray on the table.
Arthur pushed away the paperwork he was doing- there was a lot more of it since he had become regent- and pulled the tray towards him. He began to inhale his food and Merlin wandered over to light the fire for the night. He bent over so that Arthur would not see what he was doing and lit the fire with magic.
"Merlin!"
Merlin jumped. Oh no, what did he see? "Yes, sire?" he asked, turning to face Arthur.
The prince was staring off into space thoughtfully. "Did you notice that Gwen was acting strangely this afternoon?" he asked.
Of course he has to choose now to start noticing things. Though if Merlin would admit it to himself he would realize that Arthur was always more attentive where Gwen was concerned. He just wasn't sure if he found Arthur being less oblivious a good thing or a bad thing. Certainly on this front it would only bring Merlin trouble. Merlin chose to joke it off. "What have you been so much of a prat you have begun scaring her off?"
A single glance from Arthur said that he wasn't in the mood for their usual banter. Merlin immediately sobered.
"You're her friend, have you noticed anything strange about her?"
"No, sire."
Something seemed to occur to Athur. "What did you need to talk to her about earlier?"
Merlin felt the blood begin to drain from his face. "Gaius just wanted me to thank her for helping with the rounds this morning."
"And why couldn't you have said that in front of me?"
Merlin began racking his brain and luckily he came up with something believable. "Arthur, you have been using any excuse you can find to get out of doing necessary tasks." Merlin said, eyeing the papers on the table meaningfully.
Although this earned Merlin a glare, Arthur seemed to accept this explanation and Merlin was able to leave the room. As soon as he had however he wished he hadn't. When he left the room he immediately ran into someone and, with a loud yelp, sent them flying backwards into the opposite wall. There was a loud crack as their head hit the floor. Arthur came rushing out of the room and took in the scene with a trained eye. "What happened to Gwaine, Merlin?"
"I…I don't know." Merlin said. He was ready to collapse. Was he still standing? He looked down to check-yes he was.
"We need to get him to Gaius." Arthur said sensibly. All Merlin could do was nod.
…
"What happened?" Gaius asked as soon as they entered the room.
Arthur carried Gwaine in and laid him down on the bed. "I have no idea, we just found him like this."
Gaius glanced at his ward and instantly knew something was wrong. The boy looked like he was about to break down. "Sire, could you please leave for the time being? I need to focus to find out what is wrong."
"Of course Gaius, send for me if you need me." Arthur said and left the room.
As soon as the door closed he turned on his ward. "What happened Merlin?"
Merlin collapsed backwards into a chair and began speaking almost too fast to follow. "I used magic in front of Uther and Gwen, I almost got arrested, Gwen hates me-I mean she compared me to Morgana for crying out loud! And now I have hurt Gwaine! …"
"Merlin calm down! What happened to Gwaine?" Gaius asked slowly.
Merlin took in a shaky breath and, voice cracking, said, "I ran into him and I used magic to throw him against the wall. I heard a crack when he hit the ground."
Gaius immediately began examining Gwaine's head. It was bloody and quickly beginning to swell but the skull appeared to be intact. "Well this is probably why he is unconscious, but Merlin you must tell me what spell you used so I will know if I need to treat him for anything else."
"Don't you get it Gaius? I didn't cast a spell; it just happened! I am losing control. I am worse at hiding my magic than when I first came to Camelot!" The fire began to flare and grow larger as did the flame of every candle in the room.
"Merlin."
"Gaius you just don't get it! Everything is falling apart around me and I don't know what to do about it!" The fires were getting dangerously close to setting the room alight.
"Merlin, I know it's hard but you must calm down before you burn down the castle."
Merlin took a few deep breathes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He needed something else to focus on. "Will Gwaine be okay?" he asked.
Gaius nodded vigorously. "Yes he should wake soon enough, albeit with a bad headache. But Merlin, this is truly getting out of hand. I think you should go speak to the dragon about it."
This earned him a hard glare from Merlin, making Gaius wish desperately for his smiling, joking, clumsy ward to reappear. "Don't you think that I already have? He just said something about my power growing and destiny knocking at the door before laughing and flying off."
"So you've had no trouble casting spells?"
"None. I have so much magic I can't keep it under wraps. It is growing faster than I can learn to control it."
"Wha…what are you talking about?"
"Gwaine you're awake!" Merlin cried, running over to him.
"Merlin? Wha appen?" he asked, confused. Before he received an answer however the memory of what happened came back to him. He jumped off the bed, ready for a fight and Merlin was forced to leap backwards into the corner to avoid a collision. Gwaine drew his sword and pointed it at Merlin's throat. "Who are you and what have you done with Merlin, sorcerer." Gwaine spat the final word.
"Gwaine, it's me. I didn't know it was you, you surprised me. I'm sorry!" He was fighting to hold back tears.
Gwaine was now pressing the sword against the skin of his throat, drawing a small trickle of blood. Merlin shared a long glance with Gaius. Gaius gave him a nod and he teleported himself out. He reappeared with a mighty blast of wind in a clearing some ways away from Camelot. The landing was far from smooth. He rolled to a stop covered in dirt and leaves. Once the winds had faded and he got his bearings he curled into a ball and cried.
