Disclaimer- Not mine!


As long as he could remember, Merlin had been hungry.

As a child, he had been skeletal compared to the other, already unhealthily scrawny children. His mother had often gone completely without food where other parents ate, even if it was just scraps. He was about ten when he connected it with his magic, and tried to stop, if only for her sake, seeing as she was almost as thin as he was.

The only result of this was that he felt like he would burst, screaming, and yet horribly, horribly hollow at the same time.

When he got to Camelot, there was so much food he didn't know what to do. All the feasts, all the meals he delivered daily to Arthur, everything was ridiculously plentiful. Knowing not to draw attention to himself, a fact he had been harshly reminded of within his first few minutes, of entering the gates, he ate like a 'normal' seventeen year old. This not only allowed him to fill out, becoming lean and, despite Arthur's instance, strong, but grow several inches, as well.

He was still ravenous, by anybody else's standards, but only peckish by his.


Then Arthur killed the unicorn.

While everybody else felt serious hunger for the first time in their lives, Merlin only felt what he had his whole childhood, along with a faint homesickness. While others refused to eat on terms of what the meat was, Merlin had no such qualms, having eaten anything possible, just to stay alive.

["This is rat, isn't it? "

"Try not to think about it. "

"Look at me. I'm being rude. Here I am, stuffing my face with this delicious stew when you're hungry too. Come on...take a seat. Eat."]

The only thing that really got him was the lack of water, which had been plentiful in Ealdor, the river being close as it was. After the second week, the thirst and hunger combined, making him sleepy and absentminded.

["Don't you worry about keeping watch, Merlin. You just make yourself comfortable. And stop smacking your lips! It's annoying. "

"I'm thirsty!"

"We're all thirsty, Merlin."]

And while everybody else retained their basic shape, not losing much else but baby fat, Merlin started reverting to his old state, and soon had to start rolling the sleeves of his shirts and belting his pants.

After the whole unicorn fiasco ended, Merlin was the only one to not start eating immediately, figuring he could last a bit longer to see if it would really last.


After collapsing in Arthur's chambers, he ate as much as several men, and for the first, and only, time in his life, felt full.


Oh. My. Gosh. I got SEVEN reviews last chapter. That's more than any chapter I have EVER written. I think I had a heart attack when I looked at my inbox a couple of days ago.

Anyway, this was inspired by a mix of The Labyrinth of Gedref and a review by BriefShiningMoment.

And, just to give an opinion on my view of the whole Merlin/Arthur age timeline, I think Merlin was 17 when he first came to Camelot, and Arthur was 20. In Excalibur and Arthur's coming of age, Arthur and Merlin both turned a year older, (18 and 21), so in Lady of the Lake Merlin was about 19 or so. By the end of season four, Merlin was 24, and Arthur 27.

But THANK YOU to BriefShiningMoment, TeganL74, Feste the Fool, CaptainOzone, Luxorien, Cinnimania, and Volcanic Plug for reviewing! You guys made my whole WEEK!