Yeah, I know it's been a long time...but school was threatening to eat me alive with equations and hyperbolas -_-

Thank you all for your thoughts! I try to reply to every review but if I unintentionally leave someone behind know that I appreciate you reading this.^^

A huge thanks to Kitty O for pointing out my punctuation. I tried to do better this time and if the errors are still there you are more than welcome to go bang your head on desks with all of my elementary teachers :D

Quick hug to Captain Ozone for her new chapter of "Heart Of Gold" Seriously Oz, amazing stuff. And...your profile pic is simply epic.

I'm amazed no one got the hidden meaning behind Lord Hufford's name. Well, I guess it wasn't that obvious but…for what is worth, if someone catches it they'll get cookies! ^^

Exustio

Part 4

"Appearances are often deceiving."

- Aesop.

A few days turned into weeks as time passed peacefully for Camelot. Merlin was beyond surprised when Arthur, without being his usual prattish self, started asking questions…about the druids.

They were very subtle but the young warlock couldn't hide the hint of a smile that illuminated his features whenever Arthur came, yet again, with questions about what the Druids costumes were or how did they use their magic. It looked as if the brief contact he had made with Senias and Dymphna had somehow tore some of the blindfold from Arthur's eyes and he was blinking brightly at the sun of the truth, not quite able to see it yet but….trying.

At first Merlin had been puzzled when Arthur had recurred to him for confirmation to what was stirring inside him but his King's answer was that he believed the time Merlin had spent with Gaius was enough to make him all-knowledgeable in the Druids area. Merlin highly doubted that. He still had to recur to Gaius when Arthur came up with a particularly difficult question and his mentor hadn't been able to hide the twinkle of awe that his eyes held when Merlin told him of Arthur's sudden curiosity.

"Don't you see Merlin?" Gaius had said when his ward had practically whined about Arthur asking him too many things he didn't had a clue about. "He's choosing to trust you with this. Of all people, you are the one he instinctively seeks to share his doubts with. I wonder if we are not seeing destiny unravel before our very eyes."

It struck his heart like a lightning bolt, the realization of what Gaius was implying. It made him giddy with happiness but at the same time it froze him with fear. The knowledge that Arthur now trusted him implicitly with all of his questions…and that he, on the other hand, was hiding behind the mask of an idiotic fool.

It made him feel like his heart was stung with needles whenever Arthur accepted any of his cryptic answers for the truth without as much as a glance in his direction and a brief nod. As he rescued a newly reborn phoenix and managed to save Camelot from a particularly revengeful Sidhe his friend had done nothing but accept his blurted out excuses for the immutable truth instead of the half-baked stories they were.

His King was growing more perceptive too, as if it wasn't hard enough for Merlin to stay hidden with Arthur being an oblivious clot pole. It looked like if his half torn mental blindfold had loosened some of that physical blindness as well and Arthur now surprised Merlin with un- Arthur comments such as "You didn't have that burn mark yesterday. Did you drop a candle again?"

Merlin looked at the mark the little phoenix (a bit irritated after being forced to hide beneath quite a bit of odd places.) had made on the back of his hand. He tried to smile while he felt guilt nagging his insides like a corrosive poison.

"Yeah, you know me" Merlin said, looking purposely down at the floor he was scrubbing while his free hand clenched in a fist "I was helping Gaius with his research"

A tense silence followed and Merlin wondered if he had broken Arthur's brain somehow. He risked a glance at his King, who had stopped his quill and looked at him with a frown on his handsome face.

"You told me you were going to help Gwaine unsaddle the horses yesterday before you ran off after that awful bird started cackling" he commented, quite calmly.

Well, that was not what Merlin was expecting.

He froze, still on his hands and knees, while he tried to think of something-anything- to get him out of this situation. Arthur still looked at him as if he was trying hard to put the pieces together and Merlin could almost hear his brain fuzzing with concentration.

"I mean…..I was doing that after Gwaine and I were finished!" He managed out, scrubbing even more furiously as he lowered his head to hide the scowl that was covering his mouth. Great time to be perceptive prat.

A drop of ink fell from Arthur's still quill when the King didn't move.

"Really?" Arthur said flatly.

Merlin flinched but his tongue kept running. "Really. Now, if you'll excuse me I need to go wash your smelly hunting gear before it disintegrates" He made an attempt to storm off Arthur's chambers but after what Arthur's normally heedless brain had just accomplished everything else had slipped from the warlock's mind. Forgetting what he was previously doing, Merlin rose to his feet only to fall again with an impressive yelp as his boots skid on the water and soap he'd just spread through the floor.

"…sometimes I really underestimate your idiocy, don't I Merlin?"

Merlin's bleary eyes glanced up at Arthur, who was titling his head as he watched him, his arms crossed on his chest.

"Shut up" he grumbled, rubbing his jaw.

"I wonder how many times you'll have to do that before you learn how to walk" Arthur said smiling as he suddenly offered a hand to his servant "That reminds me….we are going out today Merlin."

Merlin accepted the hand and Arthur hauled him to his feet as he patted his shoulder.

"Will you still kill me if you tell me where we are going?" asked Merlin, knowing what the answer would be.

"Yes." Arthur said cheerily and Merlin noticed with intense relief that he had forgotten all about the burn incident "It's something I've had in my mind for some time."

Merlin rolled his eyes at Arthur's secretive behavior while on his chest his heart swelled for the prat. Arthur was growing as a man and as a King, everyone could see it. He was changing even more from the insecure young man who took upon his father's kingship to a king of legend.

It didn't take long for Merlin to figure out that Arthur was actually nervous. The King was fidgeting with his sword every once in a while and his mouth was set in a thin line as their horses hurried through a path only known by him. Merlin bit back the uneasiness he was feeling at seeing his friend so distracted while Gwaine repeatedly elbowed him, pleading him to ask Arthur where they were going. According to the alcoholic knight, Arthur would tell Merlin eventually if he pestered him during the ride.

But Merlin chose to keep silent when he noticed the look of thoughtful introspection Arthur wore in his eyes. Those clear blue irises did not hide the swirling emotions inside of them. As the sky preparing for a storm, his eyes let out sparks of something Merlin could not name…but place.

He'd seen it before. Once. When the King had gone fighting for his people after Annis had accepted that honorable proposal, Arthur's eyes glimmered exactly like that as he shared with Merlin why his conscience was so calm.

For the first time since I became King, I know in my heart that I've made the right decision.

Could this be the second time, then?

Suddenly Arthur's hand shot upwards, a clear command for silence. Percival suppressed the snort he was about to emit at seeing Gwaine almost getting knocked out by Merlin's mare (the knight was leaning too close while he tried to elbow his best mate again.) and Elyan stopped dead, his dark eyes piercing the woods as Leon went to the left of his King.

For a while no one emitted a single sound. Merlin strained his senses to the maximum and closed his eyes but no foreign magic resounded through his bones and there was no imminent threat near Arthur.

"Arthur what…?"

Arthur's gloved hand clasped his mouth and he huffed in protest but his King shot him a glare that he reserved only for desperate situations.

And that's when he heard it.

The scream.

"Daddy, no, NO!"

Merlin jolted at the same time Arthur drew Excalibur and jumped out of his pure blood stallion. The King began rushing towards the screams…sounds that Merlin knew -with a sickening feeling settling on his throat- were the desperate pleas of a child.

They stumbled into the clearing, the King of Camelot, the Emrys and the Knights of the Round Table to find the most gruesome spectacle Merlin had ever seen.

There was a man tied to a pole in the middle of the tiny village they had crashed into while a little child of barely 10 years of age was screaming and kicking as he called out to his father, trying to pry out of the hands that restricted him from throwing himself at the…pyre.

The man was burning.

Merlin felt an involuntary shiver running through his spine as his eyes caught sight of the man's already scorched legs. His gaze traveled upwards, starting to water with tears of rage when the man locked eyes with him. Deep green eyes that transmitted so much pain.

He barely noticed the worried glance Arthur sent in his direction before storming towards the villagers who held the torches that had obviously lit the pyre.

Because the man nodded, almost imperceptibly, and then an unknown voice resounded in Merlin's mind.

Beware Emrys…the time is nigh.

"What do you think you are doing?" Arthur bellowed. The disbelief and anger he was feeling was written plainly on his face, pale and stricken. He looked around at the faces of the hostile villagers that did not react to the voice of their King because their eyes were greedily watching the man…burn.

"Stop this madness this instant!"

The few villagers that did not had a completely misplaced smile on their faces turned to look at Arthur. They held the furious gaze of their sovereign with nothing but a slightly bored look.

"Why, Arthur Pendragon?" One of them asked.

A murmur passed through the group of villagers and a few of them nodded, as if Arthur had confirmed barely whispered suspicions.

"We heard you'd become soft" another one added, eyeing Arthur with nothing but disgust in his bearded face "I see they weren't rumors but truth. It's a shame to see how you're degrading yourself. Your father's efforts were in vain, as it is, Pendragon."

"If this is true then we will take it upon ourselves to punish magic users" a plump woman said, waving a wooden spoon in front of her "We will not permit evil grow between our children!"

But she did not paid heed to the now close to be orphan boy who was still crying out for his father, held in place by two rough hands of merciless men.

Merlin felt his heart clenched inside his chest at the sight and the warlock closed his eyes as he let a careful breath out of his lungs. He watched Leon beginning to argue with the villagers but the child's cries were too much to bear. It was as if his kin was crying out for him and almost instinctively he reached out for the man, knowing that if he was to survive this….it would be his doing.

Arthur was still arguing with the villagers, his face contorted in disbelief and pain, as Merlin made his way through the mass of people. No one noticed him, always overlooked, always invisible, an advantage of being a servant. He reached the pyre and looked upwards, seeing the dying man's eyes open and staring into his, all knowing of Merlin's identity….and of Arthur's.

"It will be alright" Merlin whispered as he extended a hand towards the heat of the lively fire "I can save you…"

But just as he was about to mutter a spell someone pushed him from behind and the warlock let out a yelp of surprise as his hand made contact with the roaring heat.

He gasped as he gritted his teeth, forcing down a tight scream. Retrieving his injured hand as quickly as he could, Merlin felt unreasonable panic invade his mind as he stared at the pink flesh of his palm, tender and swollen.

Beware Emrys…don't let appearances fool you…

The druid's voice died down and Merlin stared up at his tear stricken face as the man was suddenly engulfed by roaring flames, hiding him from view.

"FATHER!" the poor boy screamed.

"Merlin, you idiot! Get away from there! "

Merlin turned around, still clutching his injured hand to come face to face with Arthur. The King stopped dead when he saw his manservant's burned skin, flinching as he inspected his servant's injury while Merlin cursed his bad luck. If only Arthur and his terrible timing hadn't come in the way he could've healed the burn (at least a little) with a few words. But now that Arthur had seen it there was little he could do.

"It's just a scratch Arthur…" he tried to reassure his King, but for once Arthur would have none of it. He grasped Merlin's neckerchief tightly as he marched towards the rest of his knights.

"Only. You. Merlin…" Arthur marked each word with a heavy step as he directed worried glances towards the rest of the villagers, which were looking at him menacingly. But his eyes traveled to his manservant's burned hand as Merlin emphasized each step with a quiet 'Ouch' "Would. Be. Idiotic. Enough. To. Go. Near. That. Fire…HEY!"

He let go of Merlin at the same time the later turned into a sprint after his eyes traveled to what Arthur had just seen. The villagers were starting to tie the boy's hands and feet, presumably preparing him for the pyre too.

"What do you think you are you doing?"

Two or three villagers looked up at Arthur, as if they'd seen a pestering bug. They just didn't seem to care that their King was practically seething in front of them, nor that they were surrounded by knights of Camelot.

"We are burning the magic out of him" one woman with bright red hair said, leaning down towards the boy to tighten his bindings "What does it look like we're doing?"

"You just killed an innocent man in cold blood!" Arthur's voice cracked with disbelief and rage. His eyes were practically spitting fire as he took in the total lack of morality his dear people were exhibiting. The King could not belief what was right in front of his eyes, the wrongness of this people's minds.

The prejudice.

"Innocent?" the man who had lightened the pyre claimed, his voice laced with hurt "innocent! You're calling innocent people who will murder us without a thought….!"

"Innocent!" Arthur repeated, standing straighter and clutching his sword between both hands "Innocent, as a child that does not carry the guilt of anything!"

"This child has magic!"

"It doesn't make him a monster."

The man snapped her head towards Merlin, who had just spoken, still clutching his injured hand carefully. He eyes him with those dark eyes of his as if evaluating who he was.

"That's right" Gwaine's voice suddenly piped in. "this fellow is just a little druid-"

"Purposely crossing our lands" the man spat "So valiantly. Claiming that King Arthur had given them mercy…of course…." His eyes traveled up and down Arthur's pale face and burning eyes. "Now I see it is true. A shame."

Arthur face told that he was ready to throw himself to the man's throat but something stopped him. He looked around and Merlin caught his eyes, clear and resolute, before he raised his voice, sharp as a sword.

"People of this village! Do you agree with the killing of innocent people this two men and woman claim is in their right to protect themselves? Answer to your King!"

There was a murmur crossing like a wave through the mass of stricken people and Merlin distinguished a few open mouthed faces, others who looked at Arthur as if he was a being from another world. It was clear that this people had never been given the option to actually voice their opinion and had only followed, blindfolded, this three…monsters.

"They take all our food away!" some child from the crowd suddenly shouted.

Cheers from the thin faces in the crowd were heard and Arthur extended his arm towards the general direction of the child.

"Come here."

A thin, curly haired little boy came out from between the legs of two adults and stood beside Arthur, looking resolutely up at him. Arthur pierced the child's dark gaze with his clear blue one before placing one hand upon his head.

"Speak." he commanded. And the child did.

Merlin listened as the boy related his village's suffering, the way this three people took command after Uther had left them in charge of the eradication of magical beings. They stole most of the village's crops, similar to what had happened in Ealdor almost 10 years earlier, only that this was its own people stealing from their neighbors, families from families.

Merlin took this time to kneel besides the bonded druid boy. The boy looked up at him with big brown eyes, fresh with tears of rage and pain but a sudden light appeared in his pupils after Merlin touched his head to determine the extension of his injuries.

Emrys? He asked mentally. And there was so much hope in that simple name, so much awe and false security that Merlin felt his heart shatter. He nodded imperceptibly and smiled warmly as he began to take out the leather from the boy's wrists.

A task not so easy to achieve when one of his hands was practically exposing burned flesh.

He winced as he worked, not caring if his hand was starting to show signs of serious injury, noticing the boy looked up at him with awe and admiration. Using his left hand to finish untying the leather straps, Merlin smiled warmly as the druid boy started rubbing his wrists with alleviation.

His feet were still bound though, and Merlin carefully placed his fingers upon the straps, thinking of using a spell to finish the job.

"Here, let me help you"

He jumped when Leon's voice boomed by his side and the knight's large hands replaced his own as he finished untying the bonds. The druid boy looked up at Leon as he dried his tears with his dirty hands, leaving traces of dirt on his cheeks.

At Merlin's inquiring look the knight smiled "You're not the only one who cares about others Merlin. No one deserves to watch their family die" his gentle face darkened for a moment but then he sighed and turn to the boy again "I'm sorry you had to see that, kid."

The boy didn't reply but only scrubbed his face harder as he turned to Merlin. "I want to go home" he pleaded "please."

Merlin nodded gently, projecting a calming thought in his mind: I'll get you home, as he turned around to look for Arthur. But he didn't get far. Leon took his injured wrist with his big hand, frowning as he let out a long sound of disbelief.

"Merlin, what is that.?"

A lopsided grin engulfed the warlock's features as he took his hand out of Leon's strong grasp.

"It's nothing."

Before the knight could reply Merlin sprinted towards Arthur, calling out his name. Leon's eyes followed him, thoughts swirling inside those light irises, before his attention was abruptly reclaimed by the druid's boy pleading scream.

"Emrys!"

Sir Leon watched as Merlin turned his head and locked eyes with the boy. For a brief moment the boy and the servant said nothing, did nothing, and yet it felt like if they were having a conversation on their own. But before Leon could give more thought to what was happening the little druid child visibly relaxed and ducked his head.

He blinked a few times to try and understand what he had just seen but there was no logical explanation. While Percival and Elyan were tying up the man's who called themselves upholders of the law, the most loyal of the knights watched with a frown upon his face as Merlin guided Arthur towards the boy and the King knelt on the warm earth with his servant, placing a hand on the druid's shoulder and speaking in hushed whispers.

He could not shake that name from his memory.

Emrys.

And as Arthur announced that they would return the druid boy to his camp and at the same time fulfill the destiny of their journey, Leon promised himself he would not forget that name.

Merlin had seen druid camps before, but it looked like since Arthur had publicly accepted the humanity of druids by releasing Senias and Dymphna their conditions were a hundred times better.

Colorful tents of molten colors caught his eye when he entered the clearing, and he could hear the whispers of druids who knew of his arrival by the aura of magic that identified him, directing timid smiles in his direction. Once or twice children hugged his knees as they ran, giggling as Arthur froze when one of them actually asked to see his sword. The little light haired child examined Excalibur with awe as Arthur, still a little embarrassed, smiled.

Merlin took in deep breaths as they continued walking through the humble tents. The magic of this place was intoxicating. He felt a deprived hawk that tasted the air again, so deep was the feeling of belonging in his bones. But then again - and his head turned towards his King as he thought so - even deeper was his need to stay at Arthur's side.

The boy, who never wondered too far from Merlin during the journey, suddenly let out a cry of joy and threw himself in the arms of a gray haired woman that knelt in the grass as the boy sobbed out his misery. Arthur's face contorted in pain and he had to look away as the boy tried to explain what his father had endured...

"They burned him..." he cried, the pure pain on his voice striking Arthur's heart. The King wondered why his father hadn't thought of the families he was ripping apart as he claimed that the druids were secretly trying to dethrone him. He knew, from Merlin's words ( well, the idiot could be wise) and proof before his own eyes, that druids did not intend anything malevolent towards the crown.

He tore his eyes apart from the saddening scene to look at two or three druids that had emerged from the depths of a large tent. The men walked up to him and bowed lightly, looking at him as if they could see his soul.

"I wish to make peace between my people and yours" Arthur announced.

Leon saw Merlin stiffen at Arthur's side and then the briefest of glances each druid threw in his direction. Arthur's voice raised as he revealed the motive of their journey.

"I made a promise a while ago. I promised something like...what happened today..." he glanced at the sobbing boy's face apologetically for a moment before looking up at the druid's again. "...would never happen again. No more innocent lives will be claimed. I understand that you do not use your gifts for evil intend."

Murmuring broke in the clearing and the knights visibly paled, except for Gwaine whose face broke into a wide grin. Some of the druids were crying as they hugged each other, smiling as if their lives were complete.

And then, there was Merlin.

Merlin, who looked at Arthur with such a proud look in his eyes that there was almost no place for anything else in those irises. Oh, but there was. Pride, hope, faith and love swirled in those dark blue eyes, so strong that even Arthur titled his head towards his servant, glancing at him inquiringly.

"We would feel honored to do peace with you Arthur Pendragon" one of the druids said softly. He smiled and Arthur's face split into a wide grin too, as he reached out to shake the man's tan hand with his own.

"Thank you. I hope this is a new beginning for us all." he said sincerely.

"Rest assured it will." the druid answered, his smile still on his features.

That's when Merlin noticed a feeling of wrongness that had reached the core of his magic, his instinctual power, as he watched with brimming eyes the pact between the druids and the Once and Future King. His eyes darted through the crowd of druids, all overcome with gratefulness for this new step towards peace as he looked for whatever made him want to tackle Arthur to the ground.

A long body detached himself from the rest of the druids and advanced towards Arthur and himself, dropping to his knee as he bowed his head.

"I salute you, My Lord"

The man's voice was that of a young one, barely reaching the baritone of an adolescent. The feeling of wrongness grew inside Merlin, stirring his insides and making his fingers twitch in the need to grab Arthur's arm and position himself between his friend and the man, who dropped his dark hood, glancing up with eyes as light as the morning sky, cold and calculating beneath a fringe of dark hair.

He felt something on his heart twist into a tight knot as sudden fear gripped his very soul.

"There's no need for that" Arthur's voice sounded distant as he tried to pull the man out of his knees.

"But there's every need, My Lord" the man answered and his eyes...those eyes...traveled to Merlin as he dipped his head once again. Merlin took a step backwards instinctively, not even noticing the alarmed look the knights and Arthur were sending in his direction.

Because he knew the man was not promising fealty to Arthur. He was promising fealty to Emrys.

"You look familiar..." Arthur said "Have we met somewhere before?"

The man raised his eyes again and pierced Merlin through with those icy irises before answering.

"It is my wish to become a knight for Camelot, My Lord." he continued as if Arthur had not spoken, and Merlin knew the words were directed to him. "To...set things were they are supposed to be"

"That's right, we've met somewhere before..." Arthur said with renewed conviction. "Where...?"

The young man directed his eyes towards the King with a quick glance towards the knights behind them. His face lit up, none too warmly, with a charming smile as he said softly.

"I didn't expect you to remember me...My name is Mordred, King Arthur."

Merlin felt his heart stop.

You: GASP!
Me: * grins sheepishly*

Alright, I don't really know where that came from guys. I had the idea about the druid burning and Merlin getting burned in the process of rescuing him but then our sweet Mordred ( and by that I mean Alexander Vlahos) got in the way. And since I was flipping through an Arthurian legend's book the other day where they mentioned Mordred was a knight...I thought: Why not?

And I know that Mordred was all creepy and all like "I'll never forgive this Emrys, blah blah blah...but before you feel the need to remind me that... just keep reading ;) Gwen's not here either! But I'm sure she'll have a part on the next chapter...

We're getting into the fear of fire, for those who are waiting for that...fear not! It is around the corner! :D

And now that it's officially summer for me you can expect much quicker updates, so see you soon! :D

Love,

Ocean.

Ps. Tomorrow's my birthday! and reviews are the cyber perfect gift ;) Well, that and cyber hugs! ^^