AN: Sorry sorry sorry, revenge of the essay holding english/history teachers struck and I had my hands tied (very nearly literally) please forgive me!

Anonymous: Haha, that was my favourite bit to write in the whole chapter I swear- I'm so glad you liked it! And fair enough though I'll miss your opinion, not to worry though, I'd never expect you to go soft on me! haha, thanks for the review!

Nightmare-naka: Hey, I'm glad you're enjoying it and just to clarify: Merlin does see the connection, however for themes (some of which are explored in this chapter) concerning his past, he can't quite accept that. Simply because he can do weird things and his name is Merlin doesn't make him assume he's the most powerful warlock of all time, partly because of a mistrust of things to do with his mother (you'll find out more later). Still, all this is making him realise this, even more so than the others since he's proof. And we'll see, sorry this chap doesn't let you know! thanks for the review!

Ok, so Arthur acted like a prat and treated Merlin like a servant- Merlin can do magic but can't figure out if he's a freak of nature/superhero/alien/reincarnation (he's had a messed up childhood), and also thinks Arthur honestly thinks he's dirt. Arthur doesn't, in fact Arthur did it to protect Merlin from Kay and others, but, well, he's just too proud... We start again at the Pendragon household, just after Arthur gets in.

Oh and Gaius knows about Merlin's...abilities, but Merlin doesn't know he knows, geddit?

Enjoy!


A beautiful woman with practically glowing ice blue eyes turned her head gracefully to Arthur and held out a slender hand. "Nimueh Tresorce, it's a pleasure to meet you Arthur."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Bit of an unusual name, Nimueh- isn't she a character from the Arthurian legends?"

Like Merlin, owing to too many coincidences, Arthur had done a fair amount of research into the legends, though he was relieved to see this woman had wavy red hair- not at all like the jet locks the original was supposed to have had.

She gave him a smile as sickly sweet as honey laced with poison and replied, "as is Pendragon."

Uther rolled his eyes, mention of the legend always irritated him, and he snapped. "It's an old English name, ours just happened to survive- someone probably chose it themselves after reading those nonsense stories."

Nimueh took a sip of her red wine, and Arthur's stomach flipped at how similar the thick, sweet liquid looked like blood next to her unnaturally pale fingers. She regarded at Uther with sharp, narrowed eyes.

"Is that what you think they are, nonsense?"

Scoffing inelegantly, Uther threw his hands in the air. "Of course, unless you're suggesting your boy is actually the reincarnation of an ancient all powerful warlock?"

He gave a hearty laugh and Nimueh glanced back to her food, smiling a little as she cut herself a morsel of lamb and chewed it thoughtfully.

Arthur frowned in confusion. "What? Father, what are you talking about?"

Uther rolled his eyes as if his son had asked something distinctly idiotic and replied exasperatedly. "The boy, Merlin, who else would I be referring to?" Arthur let his father's frankly insulting tone wash over him in light of the already empty bottle of wine on the table and turned to Nimueh.

"You're Merlin's mother?"

The woman let out a sharp, shocked laugh. "God no, please, don't insult me- no, I'm in charge of Elizabeth house, the foster home he belongs to."

Frowning, Arthur digested this. He didn't like the way she talked about Merlin as if he were an animal, but then, considering how he'd treated him earlier, he couldn't exactly judge. Falling into a morose reverie whilst Nimueh and his father made small talk, a thought occurred to him, and he looked up, interrupting Uther.

"Wait, have you come to take him back?"

The father shot his son a reproachful stare but Arthur ignored it, suddenly fixated on this bizarrely snake like woman. She smiled, and it was a smile that made a shudder run down Arthur's spine.

"No, of course not- it would be rude to reject the enormous generosity your father has extended in light of the incident involving yourself. No, I just came to offer some advice on how to deal with him."

Incredulous Arthur said, rather rudely. "How to deal with him? , 'he' is a human being, not some dangerous pet."

The 'King' of Camelot Hall gave his son a glare that could drop nuclear missiles, but Nimueh just looked at the golden boy curiously.

"And already you care for him deeply I see."

Startled and sweating under the sudden disapproval of his father radiating from the other end of the excessively imposing dining table, Arthur stuttered, "n-no, he's just, it's just that he doesn't seem that off, you know, for a foster kid."

Nimueh nodded in pensive sympathy whilst Arthur's stomach churned at her attitude towards the children in her care- at the way he had to treat some people, who'd already suffered enough, like scum to get his father's approval.

"Yes, but as far as I understand it, your father hasn't had the misfortune of dealing with many 'foster kids' in the past, so I wanted to make sure he understood what he did and didn't have to do."

"What do you mean?"

"Arthur-" Uther couldn't remain silent any longer, but Nimueh silenced him with a pale hand and a wry, red lipped smile.

"It's alright , it's natural for your son to be curious, after all- one day these decisions may fall to him." Uther looked appeased and Nimueh's smile seemed to hold a little scorn for the elder man as she turned to his son. "Well, first, he's moving onto the domestic staff when not in lessons- he needn't get delusions of grandeur. Second, he'll stop getting free school meals-"

"That's ridiculous!" Arthur cried, more shocked than anything. Uther sent him yet another glare and an irritated part of him wondered if his father ever got tired of it.

Nimueh shook her head. "Not at all, he's old enough to work- though the work he does for the school will be free, he can buy his own food, and I'll send his food allowance to your father to go some way towards paying the bills."

Her voice was still low and gentle, as if what she was saying were perfectly reasonable- indeed, aside from a little acid mockery, there was no malice in her expression. Still…

Arthur turned to his father, beseeching.

"Father- you can't do this to him, Merlin's just a kid, like me."

"He is nothing like you!" Uther shouted, slamming his fist down on the table,and Arthur jumped, whilst Nimueh demurely cut herself another piece of lamb.

"How is he different father? We're both human, we're both boys, we were born in the same year- apart from features, how exactly is he any different from me?"

Uther glowered, half standing and shaking with rage. Nimueh sipped her wine.

"He is filth, you should know that by now. He's of a nonexistent class, parentless, penniless, pointless- the scum of the earth!"

Arthur stood too now, temper rising. "That's disgusting father! That you could honestly think like that!"

Uther stormed around the table, grabbing Arthur by the collar before he had time to move and leaning in close, puce with rage. "Don't you ever question my judgment again."

Arthur shook off his grip but backed up a little when he saw how tightly his father's fists were clenched. He moved to the doorway, nodding to their guest. "My apologies , I can be a little hot blooded at times- it must be the hormones." He didn't look at his father while he spoke, who'd settled back in his seat and downed a glass of expensive red wine in one gulp.

Nimueh chuckled lightly. "Not at all Arthur- after all, I have a whole house of children your age."

Trying for a slight smile, Arthur turned to go, only to be stopped by Nimueh's voice. Fighting an exasperated sigh, he turned back.

"Oh, and there's one more thing, be sure to tell Merlin- I'll be seeing him, from 5 till 9 or 10pm every Thursday, to…check up on him. In the Warehouse, he'll know where to go."

Controlling the incredulous twitch jumping at the corner of his eye and mouth, Arthur nodded, spinning on his heel and walking out. Behind him, he heard the low rumble of his father's voice and Nimueh's sharp, loud laugh. Face heated, he took the stairs two at a time, wondering how he could explain this to Merlin. What a mess.

X

Merlin hastily rubbed a tear from his cheek with the heel of his palm as he heard Gaius come back in, and shoved the rest of Athur's muddy kit into the machine, slamming the door and setting it going.

He normally didn't cry, and even this was only a few tears, literally two or three. Still, though he liked Gwaine and Lancelot- Arthur had seemed…different, like a best friend he'd just re-discovered. And then he'd done this. Merlin glared at the machine, punching it angrily.

The ancient washer groaned a little but kept going.

"What did my washing machine ever do to you?"Gaius asked lightly, from right behind him.

All the hairs on his arms and neck rose, and without thinking- out of control really, Merlin sent a packet of washing powder flying at the possible threat. With his…talents.

Nimbly catching the packet, Gaius set it down and sighed, leaning against the doorframe.

"Oh Merlin- what's wrong?"

Merlin blinked. "You-I-what?"

Frowning a little, Gaius reached over and touched his forehead, in all sincerity checking for a temperature. Stunned, Merlin let him. Satisfied the boy was not suffering from a fever, Gaius raised one of his white eyebrows incredibly high and repeated.

"What's wrong? You hit my washing machine, you reacted with your magic- and your eyes are red."

"M-m-m-my magic? That's what this is?"

The would-be doctor rolled his eyes. "Well, a) your name is Merlin, b) when he first met you, Arthur Pendragon suddenly, deeply cared about you- as if you were his oldest and greatest friend and c) you can make objects fly with your mind and a golden flash of your eyes. Really, I thought you were a clever boy, what else did you think it was?"

Merlin just gaped, bearing no small resemblance to a goldfish, and after a few more moments, Gaius sighed. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's alright- I'm going to make dinner."

With that, he simply turned and tottered down the corridor, utterly nonchalant. After a few moments, a thunderstruck Merlin followed.

"H-how long have you known?"

Gaisu frowned, digging around in a cupboard for some herbs before turning his face to Merlin, who stood in the doorway of the kitchen, fevered confusion straining his jaw.

"About your magic?"

Merlin nodded once, tense.

"Oh, a few weeks by now- almost the same amount of time I've known you."

Feeling a sick sense of apprehension, Merlin dropped into a seat at the table in the middle of the room.

"Did I do something while I was ill?"

Realising how genuinely upset the child sounded, Gaius set down the pan he'd just taken from another cupboard and moved to sit opposite him.

"Merlin, it wasn't your fault- obviously you were in the thrall of the fever, you had no conscious control-"

"What happened?" Merlin's voice was flat as he cut across the other's words.

"I happened to walk in whilst my vase and a pot of biros were dancing six feet in the air. Had I not been so shocked, I expect I would have found it faintly amusing."

Merlin's eyebrows quirked, and the corner of his mouth jumped- betraying the hint of one of the smiles that he'd worn more and more easily recently. In response, Gaius grinned. "Honestly, why are you so upset? I haven't told anyone, or called any research departments- though it's a relief to understand why."

Piercing blue eyes flickered to his and Gaius shrugged. "I was worried you'd been involved in some sort of creative substance abuse or some such."

The boy's black brows pulled down, creasing his smooth forehead in irritation. "What, because I don't have any parents? Tell me, because I know it's what people think, why is that to you those two things are apparently rooted in one another?"

"Merlin- you were a boy, half starved, beaten to within an inch of your life, with only a backpack of belongings, in a bin- and you asked me not to call a research department, logically, what conclusion would you come to?"

Merlin conceded with an inclination of his head, He stared at his hands for a few moments, still frowning a little, eyes dark. Finally he spoke, quietly, and trying very hard but succeeding very little at an attempt at disinterest.

"Do you think I'm a monster? Freak of nature?"

Gaius frowned, shocked, and his response was instinctive. "Of course not! Why would I?"

Merlin shrugged, letting out a shaky, faintly laughing breath. "I do."

A light, calloused palm rested on Merlin's nervously wrung hands and he glanced up to the elderly man opposite him. Something inside him swelled with relief just looking at his face, as if finally things were coming into place again, whilst on the surface he was simply panicking. Gaius smiled a little, and Merlin clung to it as if he were drowning.

"Merlin- what you have is a gift. I know, in today's world of science and realism, that's hard to accept- but it's real and it's precious and special."

Merlin grinned a little, one eyebrow raised. "I'm special?"

Gaius rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. And-" With a light, paternal pat of his hand, Gaius got to his feet, continuing, as he turned to yet another bookshelf. "Though I don't know what upset you earlier, I think I may have just the thing to cheer you up."

Whilst Gaius tried to find what he was looking for, Merlin distractedly wondered why exactly he needed four bookshelves of ancient looking tomes in a kitchen. Finally, Gaius turned, a thick, hardbacked leather volume in hand.

"I've had this for years- tried to use it myself once, years ago, but…well, if I ever had the strength, it's no longer with me. So now, it's my gift to you."

His tone suggested this was some kind of incredible favour, but Merlin just raised his eyebrows, eyeing the book as if it were some enigmatic and possibly dangerous beast.

"And what is that exactly?"

Gaius smiled a little, holding out the book which Merlin took reluctantly, all too eager to set it down on the plain wooden table.

Sitting down opposite him, his mentor leaned forwards and Merlin glanced up.

"It's a book of spells."

Barely even conscious of the grin that flashed and stuck onto his face, Merlin gingerly flipped open the cover, fingers nimble. The pages were literally parchment, and the writing was beautifully illuminated in the style of medieval scripts. Eyes getting brighter and brighter, Merlin flicked through the pages.

Suddenly he paused, and Gaius frowned, wondering what was wrong.

"Gaius." There was an odd catch in Merlin's voice. "What is this written in?"

Gaius sighed. "Well, a sort of hybrid old english as far as I can decipher it, with a bit of Norman, welsh and some gaelic- if you can't read it…"

Merlin shook his head, and his grin, which had dimmed a little, widened once more. "No- I can, it's like something in my head just unlocked- it's…thankyou Gaius."

The boy seemed genuinely touched and Gaius nodded modestly, resting a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of affection before beginning to prepare dinner. However, looking at how engrossed Merlin was already in the book, Gaius wondered if just this once, even the temptation of food would be able to distract him from his thoughts.


Woot! so Merlin's gonna be learning some magic, because lets be honest, previously for a kid in the 21st century, magic isn't exactly going to be the first conclusion you're going to jump to, and we'll find out why he discredited his mother's name for him as having some other motive later...

Anyhoo, what's with Nimueh? Anyone remember Merlin's attitude towards Elizabeth House? Uther's a rubbish father but we knew that..how is Arthur going to break this to Merlin on top of everything else? Will they be ok?

Any other questions, comments or criticism are greatly welcomed- seriously, if a chap's late it's your reviews that motivate me to delay something else and do this, so please keep it coming,

hope you liked the chapter and thankyou for reading,

Kat