Of course, I do not own Merlin, and all mistakes are my own. Currently watching 'Children In Need' - always do, its one of the best ways to help raise money for charity! :D Those people that get involved do so much to raise as much as they possibly can - they are fabulous!
Hope that everyone is doing well. It's been really hard to write for this fic recently, work at Uni's suddenly jumped up, so I've been writing whenever I can - involving writing memo's on my phone, just so I remember what I want to write when I get back home (otherwise I would completely forget!).
Anyway enough from me, enjoy! :D
Summary
When told, through their usual banter, that Arthur would not survive a week without Merlin, he predictably decides to give Merlin the week off to go visit his mother, in order to prove otherwise. Merlin immediately decides to not look a gift horse in the mouth, and takes advantage of the situation to get some free time. Little does he know that there are surprises in store for them both. With both friends and enemies surrounding him, Merlin will have to tread carefully if he wants to protect both Arthur and his secret.
Merlin walked side by side with Anya and Kiran while they walked towards the camp of Endellion. Every step, Merlin could hear his hear beat, louder and louder. He had never been one for speeches – that was Arthur's job – and this would require some inspirational words from him in order to really convince others to join him. He worried about how they would react to seeing him – the 'Emrys' him. If they reacted the same way as the others had back in the Amala clan, then he could possibly be able to convince them a lot easier, but he knew that there were those who believed that Emrys was a traitor to his own kind for protecting the Pendragon family.
"Do you think it a good idea to hide who I am from them?" Merlin started. "Would that not give them less reason to trust me? If I hid my identity?"
Anya seemed to take a moment to think about what Merlin had said.
"I'll be honest – there are a few whom I know that it would be best for you to hide your identity from. It depends how they react to your presence, I suppose. If there is no doubt in their mind about what side they are on, then you would be better showing them who you truly are, if not, then it would be best to remain hidden" Anya explained.
"And what about those from the Endellion clan? Do you think that they can be trusted?"
"I know the leader, and a fair few others, as does Kiran. Many of them I know will immediately jump to your side, but there are others that have more recently joined the clan that we are unsure about. It may take some time, and some motivating words on your part, but i think that if they are truly the people I hope and believe them to be, then they will come around" Anya finished.
Merlin nodded in affirmation that he had heard her, smiling slightly at that thought that they would 'come around'. He knew not to believe it would be easy – or even that all of them would turn against Morgana – and some might not even listen to him, but he had to try. He had to get them to remember that violence should not be the answer, and should only be used as a last resort. The druids were famous for believing in that - that violence should not be encouraged – but Morgana had somehow managed to make them forget their beliefs, and now it was Merlin's job to lead them back to the path that they were on.
Upon entering the camp – which looked a lot more organised than the Amala, what with tents in an orderly fashion around the fire – there were many people split up around the camp, talking quietly amongst themselves, as if afraid someone else would overhear their conversations. Something had happened recently, he could tell that much – the tension was still thick in the air, so they had obviously had a large debate over something.
They were approached by three men, tall and wearing robes that Merlin thought only someone like Gaius could pull off. As they stood in front of them, one of them let a great smile grow on his face when he saw Kiran, immediately stepped forwards and enveloped him in a hug, which the young healer returned.
"Kiran! What are you doing here? It's great to see you again" began the man whom Kiran now let go.
"It's been a while. It's great to see you too! I've come here with Anya, I suppose you remember…?" Kiran asked.
"Why, yes of course! Anya, leader of the Amala, what a great honour it is to see you again" the man replied, bowing his head slightly in Anya's direction, a smile still on his face.
"And you, Liam. You haven't changed in the slightest" Anya replied.
"Clearly you can't see the grey hair that I've cleverly managed to hide – from stress, more than age, I assure you" he laughed in reply.
"Lillian still giving you a hard time?"
"Is she that predictable?" he joked. "I've managed to get some peace since coming to Camelot though – she used to be close friends with a couple of people in another camp, so she's gone to visit them while we're here".
"Speaking of friends from other camps, I'd like you to meet Emrys" Anya began, turning to look at Merlin – or what she could see of him, what with his hooded cloak doing its job so well.
"Nice to meet you" Merlin started, not entirely sure what else to say – what else was he supposed to say to someone who's suddenly turned to look at him in complete shock, mouth hanging open and eyes wide? That was when he saw that the other two men had turned as well, hearing his name.
Not only that, but the entire camp had suddenly gone quiet. Before, despite the camp members whispering, there was still a low buzz of noise, now there was nothing.
"Emrys? Are you truly him?" Liam finally managed to ask.
"Um…yes, I am" Merlin replied, still unsure of what to do.
"Well then…welcome to camp Endellion" Liam said, the smile on his face widening more than it had been before.
Liam, Anya, and Merlin moved over to the logs around the camp fire, while Kiran left them to it and wandered around camp, greeting his old friends as he came across them. As Merlin walked beside Anya, whenever they passed another druid, they would bow their heads towards him, as if he were royalty.
"Is there any way to stop them from doing that?" Merlin whispered to Anya.
"Only by telling them all, and even then it will probably be hard to break the habit" She started. "We grew up hearing and learning about all the great things that you can and will do, Emrys, so I suppose to some people you are a little like royalty. It's good to see that you don't let all that power go to your head though – most people probably would".
Anya's words made him laugh as they sat on the log closest to the fire.
Liam turned around to one of the men that he had been with when he had greeted them, and asked him to fetch another man called Lael. Turning back to Merlin and Anya he explained who Lael was.
"Lael is the leader of our group of druids, and knowing him I'm sure that he would really like to meet you, Lord Emrys. Lael is one of the last of the priests of the old religion, and knows everything about the prophecies better than anyone else here" Liam explained.
"If Lael is leader, do you mind my asking what job it is that you do?" Merlin asked, as he had been starting to think that the man before him was the leader. Seeing how Liam had reacted to 'Emrys's' presence had made Merlin feel a little more at ease – if the leader of the group sides with him, then the most likely result would be that the entire clan could also be persuaded.
The boy returned a moment later with another tall man walking beside him. Merlin had seen this man – Lael – come out of one of the tents that was almost directly in front of him, were it not for the camp fire, and start walking towards them.
Liam stood as Lael approached, and Anya and Merlin felt inclined to do the same.
"Anya! So good to see you again!" came Lael's greeting upon seeing the woman that stood beside him.
"Same here, Lael" Anya replied, returning the smile that he gave her.
Lael then turned to face 'Emrys'. His smile dropped for a second, unsure what to make of the man standing in front of him. So many stories had been told about the great and powerful Emrys, and here he was standing before him – like he was just another man. Lael was a little shocked to see that Emrys was hiding within his cloak, but was not offended by it – he knew that Emrys' identity would be better off remaining as a secret, in case those like Morgana discovered it. He hoped that he would trust him enough to reveal his face one day, but knew that that trust had to be eared, he wouldn't trust him immediately.
"Emrys…I must tell you it is an honour to meet you at last" Lael started.
"Thank you, the same for me. I've heard a few things about you from Anya and Kiran".
"All good things I hope?" Lael replied, smiling.
"Of course" Emrys replied, amusement in his voice, but smile hidden under the hood.
"Please, sit" Lael said, indicating the log that they had just vacated. Once they were sat down, Lael continued. "I must say when I was told that Anya was here, with you – Emrys – I didn't believe it".
"No?"
"No, we were not sure if you even existed in this world yet, whether or not you had even been born" Lael replied. "It is a relief to finally know that you are here".
Merlin didn't know what to say, it was still a shock to know that people looked up to him so much. Realizing that he wouldn't be speaking soon, Anya continued for him.
"I'm afraid that this isn't just a social visit, Lael" she began. "We have come to discuss the events that are taking place within Camelot, those concerning the war that…someone is trying to start".
Lael thought for a moment. "You are of course referring to the Lady Morgana?"
"I'm afraid Morgana no longer holds that title, she has turned against Camelot, and therefore everything that goes with it" Emrys added, a touch of sadness in his voice.
"You sound as if you know her well" Lael replied.
"I thought I did…"Emrys began. "I know Camelot well, and seeing as Camelot used to be her home, I also got to know her…"
"You know Camelot?" Lael asked. "Then you know the people?"
"Yes, I suppose I do" Emrys replied, wondering where this line of questioning was heading.
"Then I must ask you to advise me, Emrys, for the camp has recently reached a point where we cannot go forward without arguing amongst ourselves".
"Why? What has happened?" Emrys asked, leaning forwards slightly.
"Several hours ago, a man walked close to our camp, if we hadn't used magic to render him unconscious, he would have entered our camp. At first we believed that he was here to attack us, slaughter more of our kind".
"Why would you think that?"
"This man is a knight of Camelot" Lael answered.
Merlin sat up straight at Lael's words. One of the knights had come after him – that was the only explanation that he could think of that seemed possible. Had Gwaine decided to follow him anyway? It couldn't have been Arthur – they would have mentioned that immediately if it were, surely? What if it was Arthur? How was he supposed to hide who he was from him? Arthur knew him far too well for Merlin to successfully hide his identity.
"Perhaps I should have someone fetch him, I'm know that you will know whether or not to truly trust what this man says or not" Lael explained.
Then he turned around to a boy, who couldn't have been over sixteen, and he walked up to the tent that Lael had come out of earlier. Merlin looked back to Lael.
"Has this person explained why they were close to your camp?" he asked, trying to work out who it was.
"He has. He said that he was headed towards Cenred's old kingdom. He was trying to find someone across the border" Lael answered.
That confirmed Merlin's suspicions. It had to be Gwaine.
However, his belief was shattered when it wasn't Gwaine that walked out of the tent, but he did see someone else he recognized walking towards him.
"Lancelot?" he said, walking forwards slightly towards the man.
The moment he had spoken to his friend, he saw the recognition in Lancelot's face. He knew that Lancelot had recognized his voice. It was made even more obvious when the man before him replied.
"Merlin?" he replied, never having looked more shocked.
Reviews:
ReadingRaven019 - thanks! same here, couldn't split up our boys for too long :D hope you enjoyed it!
EvilCabbagezPwn - wow, thanks! hope this was just as enjoyable as the last :) thanks again for the review!
Heart of Diamond - Pretty soon, can't really say how soon, but pretty soon :) thanks! always love reading your reviews :D thanks again!
MerlinsBeardItsTheDoctor - yup yup! hehe! thanks a lot! great to hear that - well 'read' but you know what I meant :D thanks again!
HplcMlVr - definitely! haha! :D thanks! I always worry that I'm going to end up going completely OOC :D thanks a lot!
artsycherry - thanks! it's great to know that my readers think that! :D
Thanks to everyone for alerting, favouriting and reviewing! Cookies and ice cream to you all hehe! :D
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