A/N: First off, I would like to apologize for the long wait on this next update. I got sidetracked during Thanksgiving. Speaking of which, I hope you all had a wonderful Thankfulday and are ready to get back to reading! :D -nudenudehinthint- :D Anyway, I'd also like to say, keep reviewing! I simply love and appreciate all of your reviews, and they get me pumped and ready to write the next chapter. I don't have any set plan for this story (it was a random idea to start with in the first place) so any comments, suggestions, concerns, questions, anything you have to say, go ahead! There's a good chance I'll put your suggestions into consideration.

Alright, I've blabbed enough. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy mon amis!


A wince swept across Uther's face as he stared at his now raw red cheeks. In order to make sure that he was not dreaming, and that he actually was inside a peasant's body, he had pinched his (or, rather, Merlin's) cheeks, rubbed his face, and even checked his hind quarters. After a moment of investigation, Uther came to the frightful conclusion that, indeed, he had ended up inside Arthur's manservant's body. And now to ask the question of the year: Why, and how, did he end up in such a state? The best answer Uther could come up with himself almost frightened him: magic. It must have been magic that caused this dilemma. How it has exactly happened, and why such a thing has occurred, Uther did not know.

Deciding that he had enough cheek-pinching for one day, Uther marched out of the bedroom and into the main area of the chambers. There, sitting down at the table, hunched over a bowl of food, was Gaius.

"Gaius!" Uther said with hope rising from inside him; if anyone could help him out, it was his wise and most-trusted court physician.

"Finally deciding to get up, I see," The old man commented with amusement. "Hurry, eat your breakfast; Arthur shall be expecting you." He motioned to the brown bowl next to him.

Uther looked down at the round container and scrunched his nose in disgust. He wasn't even sure if he could classify the contents within the bowl as actual food. "Gaius," he said, casting his eyes away from the vulgar food, "listen – "

"Eat, eat! The earlier you get to Arthur the earlier you can come back. I have some chores for you to do later." Gaius interrupted, completely disregarding the protests of Uther.

"No, Gaius, I – "

"Are you alright? Your cheeks . . . they're red." Said Gaius, finally getting a good look at Merlin – er, Uther.

"Listen!" commanded Uther, getting frustrated at the lack of respect the man was showing him. The sudden outbreak had surprised Gaius. He raised an eyebrow.

"I am listening."

Uther took a deep breath. This time, he was going to tell him. "I'm not Merlin, I'm – "

A loud knock came from the door, causing Uther to be interrupted once again. His brows furrowed and his face began to distort out of pure frustration. Once Gaius had said "enter," a young, tentative woman slipped in.

"K-King Uther wishes to see you. At once." she said while keeping her eyes locked onto the floor. She did not notice the manservant staring at her with a bewildered look.

Gaius raised an eyebrow, unaware that the real Uther was standing right behind him. "Does he now?" Waiting not a moment, he stood up and nodded to the girl. "Thank you, miss." He began to gather his things.

Uther had been watching, confused at the message. If he was stuck in Merlin's body, and since he most certainly had not ordered for Gaius, then that must have meant his body was being used by someone else.

"Gaius, wait! That is not me, that's – "

Uther had almost gotten Gaius' attention, but yet again, his speech was cut off by someone. This time, it was by his own flesh and blood. Arthur poked his head into the room, his eyes immediately locking on who he thought to be Merlin. "Merlin, there you are." He entered the room, giving a nod of acknowledgement to Gaius as the old man took his leave. "Instead of waiting hours for you, I have decided to simply get you myself. Come, we have a busy day ahead." Arthur beckoned for Uther to follow, and without even waiting for a response, left.

Uther was quite frustrated now. All his attempts to communicate with Gaius had been interrupted so disrespectfully, as if he was some sort of servant! . . . Oh, right. He was a servant. But, still, how was he going to fix this if no one would listen to him? If not Gaius, then perhaps his son would. He could tell how much he trusted his manservant, so maybe he had a better chance with him. Taking a deep breath, Uther took a few large steps in order to catch up to the prince.

———

Merlin stared at the mirror with a perplexed face. Who, what, where, when, why, and how did he end up in the King's body? The King's body! Out of all the people he could have ended up in – A knight, a peasant, or even someone as crazy as The Great Dragon – he had to end up in the old, fearsome King Uther's body. To add insult to injury, Uther was the man who completely despised magic. If he ever found out about Merlin's secret, then surely he would burn the warlock the next morning. A shiver ran down his spine just at the thought of it.

Stepping closer to the large mirror, Merlin got a better look at his new face. He ran a few fingers along his head, able to feel every wrinkle and imperfection. Again, out of everyone he ended up in, he ended up in an old man's body. He could already feel the physical difference. When he got up, it took him a few moments to get moving. Did Uther have to go through that every morning? If he did, well then, Merlin hoped that he would not have to spend many mornings in Uther's body.

"Good morning, Sire," came a familiar voice, causing Merlin to break away from his thoughts and look at who had entered. "You wished to see me?"

The young man within the King's body looked at Gaius with a slightly puzzled expression. For a moment, he wondered why Gaius had called him sire, but when he glanced at the mirror next to him, he remembered that he was in a royal body. After looking back at Gaius, Merlin smiled, both physically and mentally. "Gaius!" He exclaimed, hurrying over to the physician and closing the door. "You don't know how great it is to see you. I have a problem . . . . I'm not Uther."

Gaius gave him a skeptical look. "Pardon me, my lord, but I do not follow."

"I'm Merlin!" The warlock in disguised whispered, trying his best to sound convincing. Gaius began to look concerned.

"If that is what you wish me to call you from now on, sire . . ."

"No, no! Gaius, it's me! Merlin!" Seeing the baffled look on his mentor's face, he continued, "I have . . . a secret. You are the only one who knows about it," Merlin leaned closer, his voice dropping down to an even lower whisper, "I can use magic."

Merlin and Gaius stared at each other for quite a while. Merlin patiently waited as Gaius scrutinized the face of the king. His worried face abruptly turned to surprise when he finally came to a conclusion. "Merlin!"

Uther -who-was-actually-Merlin gave Gaius a look. "No, actually I'm Arthur. Like my disguise?"

"Merlin, it is you!" the man exclaimed, also dropping his voice to a low whisper. "What in Camelot's name are you doing in Uther's body?"

"Well, I was getting rather tired of my own body so I decided to – how am I supposed to know!?" Merlin shouted, throwing his arms up into the air in irritation. "I don't even know how I got in here. Last night I went to bed, looking as per normal, and then I woke up as an old man!"

"This is not good, Merlin." He said, costing him a "you think?" look from the face of the King. "If you are in Uther's body, then . . ."

"Uther's in my body." Merlin finished, coming to the same conclusion as Gaius.

The two exchanged troubled looks. Neither of them had to verbally express their concern. Then, as if they had somehow communicated without words, they simultaneously hurried out the door, so as to begin their search for a king in a manservant's body.

———

"Now, Merlin, there is much to do today, so I don't have time for your complaining." Arthur said, walking down the hall at a hurried pace. Before Merlin – or, to be more precise, Uther – could get a word in, Arthur interrupted him . . . again. "First off, we need to split up and search for the missing servants. Half of them have disappeared since my father's rampage yesterday."

Hearing his name, Uther paused for a moment. "They disappeared?"

"Yes, they've gone into hiding," Arthur began, turning over his shoulder to look at the servant, "and if you don't get your lazy butt moving they shall stay that way."

When Uther heard the lack of disrespect within his son's voice, he looked at him with a shocked expression. "Excuse me?"

The prince continued to walk. "You heard me. We can't afford to waste time on your laziness and natural ability to be completely useless."

"Arthur!" Uther angrily exclaimed, ceasing his journey down the corridors of the castle.

The King's son stopped walking and turned around to look at whom he figured was Merlin. Astonish and irritation formed over his face. "Merlin, what is wrong with you? Are you deranged?"

"I most certainly am not!" Uther shouted, still forgetting whose body he was in. "And how dare you speak to me with such little respect!"

The astonished and irritated face of Arthur morphed into an impatient and slightly livid one. "How dare I speak to you with little respect? Who do you think you are, the king?"

"As a matter of fact – "

"Silence! You are forgetting who's in charge here," seethed Arthur, closing the distance between him and Uther. "I think it's about time I remind you of your position in this castle."

Completely ignoring any attempts his supposed manservant made to speak, Arthur grabbed the back of Uther's shirt and roughly dragged him off, a plan already formulated within his mind.