A/N: Well hello there. How are you all? IndiaMoore, xPrincessoftheSkiesx, bubzchoc and babyglover, thank you for your reviews. A maze thing, Solar07 and gorgeousangel, you have all expressed the same thing. Why leave Hunith and Will behind? Well in Hunith's case, I don't have a plotline for her in mind, and it would be a waste... And Will will return! Only, for now, Merlin needs to be alone. But, your wishes are noted, and I'll see what I can do. :) gorgeousangel, I just have to say your first review - for some unknown reason - made me laugh so hard I had tears in my eyes. Don't know if you intended to make me laugh or if I've finally just lost it, but thanks for that. :)
Disclaimer: If I owned Merlin, there'd be a lot more interesting language... Though for this, I have stuck with the vernacular of the show.
Welcome to Camelot
When Merlin arrived in Camelot, the king did not notice his return, and for that, Merlin was grateful. He didn't want to be noticed. He didn't want to be seen. Merlin wished for nothing but his mother and the familiar scent of his family home and had no longing to see the stocks again.
He couldn't even be mad because there was no one in the vicinity to be mad at. No one could argue that Gaius wasn't trying. He had been surprised to see Merlin back so soon, looking so disheartened. Leon quietly explained why and handed Gaius the letter that Merlin had attempted to tear up in his despair the night before when they set up camp for the night.
The knight and the prince had left him alone, and Merlin had let his thoughts race until anger made him attempt to tear the unopened envelope his mother had written up into shreds. Leon had snatched the paper from him and told him to calm himself, but all Merlin did was growl and storm off into the woods. Neither of the older boys following him and when Merlin returned, he was calmer at least.
No, Merlin couldn't be mad at Gaius. He had set up his old apprentice chambers as Merlin's very own and bought him a new chest to put on the end of his bed. Other than a very stern lecture that he was not to use his magic Gaius was quite kind.
"But sometimes… Sometimes my magic just happens," Merlin said, in an effort to explain his occasional lack of control.
Gaius frowned. "Just happens? You simply feel the need for it and it, comes to you?" Merlin nodded, his head bobbing like an apple on the water. "That is strange, my boy. Very strange indeed." Gaius didn't elaborate but kept going with his lecture. The more he spoke, the more Merlin felt like some strange creature that needed to be tamed. Why do I have magic? Why can't my life just be easy and boring like everyone else?
All in all, Merlin had few possessions. Mostly, they were books and he put the old ones in the bottom of the chest and the others stacked up next to his bed with an oil lamp on top. When his room was finished being set up, Gaius decided to leave him alone to settle in.
There, Merlin curled up in his bed and sobbed.
His first night in Camelot officially - and not unconscious and dying from a magical ailment or him and Will so tired from the stocks they fell asleep before they could bathe - was so cold he couldn't sleep at all, even with the new comforts of a bed. So instead found himself wandering the castle, following no route in particular, until he found four guards gathered around a fire.
He peered at them from where he hid then recognised one of them. "Sir Leon?"
Leon looked up and jumped in surprise at the shaking Merlin. "Merlin? What are you doing out here?" he asked. The other three guards peered at each other with frowns on their faces, as Leon approached him and threw his cloak around his shoulders. "You're freezing," he hissed.
Merlin nodded, tiredly. "I was going for a walk. My room is too cold to sleep in. Either that or I'm not used to sleeping without a fire."
"Why didn't you ask Gaius for some extra blankets?"
He shook his head. "He's done too much," he mumbled.
Leon looked over his shoulder to the others. "I'll return. Let me just take him back."
The guards murmured to allow him and Leon wrapped one arm around Merlin and led him back to Gaius's chambers, careful to creep past the sleeping man. "You wait here," Leon said, tucking Merlin back into bed. "Keep my cloak, and I will return with extra blankets."
Merlin's face scrunched up, eyes watering. "I don't like it here. I want to go home."
Leon tried smiling and ran a hand through Merlin's hair. "I cannot imagine what this is like for you. Camelot is the only home I have ever known, and I would be heartbroken to leave it. But I assure you, Camelot may seem lonely, but you will not be alone. You have many friends here already."
"Who?" he asked, reluctantly as he believed 'no one' was the answer.
Leon smiled. "Well me for one. I hope you don't mind."
"No." Merlin curled his fingers around the cloak, trying to stifle a yawn. "I don't mind. You seem like a good friend."
"Thank you," Leon smiled, appreciatively. "And I'm sure if you asked Arthur, he too would be your friend."
"Arthur?" Merlin snorted. "The Prince of Prats?"
Leon chuckled. "Yes. I suppose he is a bit of a prat sometimes. But he is good-natured, and he cares for people very deeply. Now you need to stay here. I will return for my cloak soon." But Merlin couldn't remember if Leon returned or not. But he did find the knight's cloak was missing, and a few thick blankets were covering him instead.
In the morning, Merlin went out into the physician's chambers to eat breakfast and saw Gaius sitting there, already with a bowl of porridge and a selection of fruits. "I asked the kitchens to prepare me something as a treat. Usually, we don't bother them, but I thought today we could do something special. We can go to the town later, and you can show me what foods you like, if you wish," Gaius offered.
Merlin smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."
Gaius offered to take Merlin on his rounds so he could also show him the town and he agreed, washing his face in a bucket Gaius provided him first.
In all honesty, Merlin was a little excited at exploring Camelot. He knew what the stocks and Gaius's chambers looked like, but he had barely seen the kingdom the last time he was there. But before they could even leave the castle, Merlin felt someone leap on his back from behind. "Merlin, you're back! Are you going to stay?" He startled but steadied himself and put down whoever had held him in a vice grip. There stood a flushed Morgana with an equally excited Gwen behind her.
"Uhhh... Yeah." His normal floppy grin adorned his features. "Do you mind?"
Before Morgana could reply, Gwen threw her arms around his neck and knocked him to the ground. Gaius chuckled, reminding Merlin he had an audience. "I can show you the town another time. You three go have fun," the physician said.
"Ugh, thanks, Gaius." He wasn't completely sure if Gaius's leaving was a good thing or not. Gwen pulled away from Merlin, her cheeks coloured and apologised for jumping on him. "No... It's alright," he assured her. "Didn't know you two were going to miss me so much."
Morgana looked miffed as Gwen helped him up. "Yes well, Gwen couldn't stop going on about you, and I just couldn't stand it anymore. I was about to send her off to Ealdor to see you."
Gwen shook her head. "It wasn't like that," she promised. Gwen gave Morgana a particularly puzzling look, but it sent flips through Merlin's stomach as it implied that maybe the opposite was true, and Morgana was going to run off to Ealdor on her own accord. It seemed like something she would do.
"What happened in Ealdor anyway? Why are you back here?" Morgana asked bluntly.
Merlin's happiness faded and was replaced by a deep anger and sadness. He dug his teeth into his lip and then replied, "I chose to come back. Learn to be a physician." Gwen frowned but said nothing.
Morgana beamed. "But today you're not training are you?"
He looked around to see Gaius nowhere in sight. "Doesn't seem like it."
"Excellent." Morgana took Merlin's hand and dragged him off. "Let me show you around, and I'll tell you about the horrible time I had to endure with my Aunt, the Lady Patrice."
The three of them explored Camelot together and ended up feasting on cakes and sweets - Morgana enjoyed her desserts more than anything - in a small alcove that was long enough to fit them all comfortably lying down. It was dug out in a thick wall between two halls, hidden from the sight and it was in there that they chatted.
"Can you believe it, Merlin? Lady Patrice didn't have any sort of sweet. The old crone's so fat, she probably ate it all herself. Though she's constantly going on about a lady watching her waist." Merlin honestly didn't care much for Morgana's stories about Patrice but pretended because it was entertaining watching her speak. Gwen kept snickering to his left, realising it was more of the way her mistress told a story than the story itself that was exciting.
The alcove was short, and Merlin could only get in if he doubled over and crept through and his head grazed the ceiling when he stood half way up.
"When I was much younger, and I was visiting the palace, Arthur and I would hide in here from officials. Sometimes we'd use it to run away as we were small enough to crawl through quickly to the other side and no adult in their right mind would follow us in fear of looking improper," she laughed, licking cream from her fingers.
Merlin watched as Gwen was more prudish about how she ate, separating her share into piles and naming them, 'Now', 'Elyan', 'Father', and 'Later' under her breath.
He grinned. Gwen held herself and her tongue more like he thought a noble would, while Morgana seemed to speak, with her strange lilt, whatever it was she thought. The girls were complete opposites, yet, Merlin noticed they moved as one. When Morgana moved left, Gwen shifted slightly too, and when Gwen stopped to gather something, Morgana would take a momentary pause unconsciously and wait for her. They were the best of friends and sometimes when Morgana got too flustered with her words, Gwen would step in and explain, often shyly what her mistress meant while Morgana would expand on Gwen's often quiet speeches.
Thinking more about what Morgana had said reminded Merlin that since he arrived in Camelot the previous afternoon he had not seen Arthur. "Where is Arthur?" he asked curiously. "I mean... The King hasn't punished him for helping me, has he?"
"I don't think he knows. I only found out because of Sir Leon." Morgana chewed through some cake and leant back against the arched wall of the alcove and kept her feet straight out in front of her. "And Arthur's just attending to his duties. He is to be made a knight soon and given his own patrol and still has a lot of training to get through."
Merlin looked surprised. "But he's so young."
"That's what I said. But he's the Prince of Camelot. He has his duties, I suppose," Morgana reasoned. She held out some sort of pastry stuffed with strawberries and cream. "Try this. It's delicious."
Before he could reply, Morgana had already shoved half the thing into his mouth. He took a wary bite and chuckled through the crust as strawberries oozed out. He pushed the rest into his mouth earning a snort of laughter from the girls and smiled at the taste. "It's good," he said through chewing.
Morgana beamed at him and then directed him to try – shoved food down his mouth – all these different sweets he had never seen before until his stomach was aching.
Later, when Morgana had to go dine with the King, he was left alone with Gwen who seemed to be in two minds about staying with him. "Please. I'm afraid Morgana might have poisoned me with all that dessert," Gwen frowned, still hesitant to talk ill of anyone in the upper crust. But after Merlin smiled widely, she made up her mind and led him to what she deemed her favourite place in the whole of Camelot.
She led him to one of the gardens of Camelot that stood heights above the rest of the city. There was an edge without the tall guard, which wrapped around the other walls of the castle. From it, you could see almost every point of the kingdom. Gwen curled her dress under her and sat just below the very short ledge, on a patch of grass and looked over to watch all of Camelot packing up to head inside for their dinners. Merlin sat by her side, crossing his legs and leaning back on his arms.
The sun was setting below the horizon, into the lands beyond Albion. Merlin had to admit, there weren't any views like that from Ealdor.
"So why did you really come to Camelot?" Gwen asked after all other conversation ran dry. Merlin looked up in surprise, but Gwen was faintly smiling at him, encouraging him to speak. When his face contorted into one of confusion, she went first. "My whole life I have sat back and observed the goings on in others homes. I know when someone is lying. You don't want to be a physician. Anyway, you loved Ealdor and Will and your mother too much to come and live in Camelot. There is a faint bruise on your cheek. Something must have happened."
Merlin sighed, touching the bruise and looked away from Gwen and out towards the hills he knew descended into Ealdor, his home. "I think my mother is right. They would have killed me... Eventually."
"Who?"
"The people in my village. They were scared of me."
"Why?" Gwen questioned, looking horrified.
Merlin shrugged, not able to tell her about magic but knowing she wouldn't drop the topic. "Because I'm different." When Gwen continued to look confused, he sighed. "I fall over a lot, strange things happen around me... They thought I somehow was to blame for the illness. The superstitions of a small village."
Gwen frowned. "That is no reason to throw out a child."
"Ah, but the big ears are." To make the point, he pushed out his ears making them more prominent and even made a face. She couldn't help but laugh, and Merlin beamed back.
That was all he wanted.
To make people smile.
They turned back to face the setting sun, and Gwen leant against Merlin's side. He hadn't expected it but relaxed his arm around her shoulder, the sun warming their skin for a pleasant change. As the sun well and truly dipped below the horizon, Merlin rested his chin on her head, and they chatted idly until their skin goosepimpled from the cold and their stomachs growled from hunger. "Come have dinner with me and my father and brother," she offered.
"I would, but Gaius is expecting me. Tomorrow?" he asked.
Gwen beamed and nodded. "Tomorrow then."
They both rushed to their homes and Merlin bolted in just as Gaius finished pouring a phial of potion. "Where have you been, boy? I was worried!"
Merlin had never really had a curfew before, always running in and out of the forests and around the village with Will from dusk till dawn., Hunith had more or less surmised they would never miss a meal, therefore was only ever worried should they come when dinner wasn't on the table. Yet another new thing I'm going to have to remember. "I am sorry," he said. "I was with Morgana and Gwen and then just Gwen, and we went all around the castle and ate cakes and..."
Gaius chuckled, the worry seeping from his face. "Just next time warn me should you be running late. Come now. Dinner is on the table."
He started eating then asked Gaius if it would be okay if he had dinner with Gwen the next night. Gaius said it would be fine. He made Merlin wash before bed, and he did just before sinking underneath the warm covers.
The second night in Camelot, he couldn't sleep because of a nightmare. Too tired to discern unconsciousness from dreams the night before, now that Merlin was well rested he dreamt of his mother and Will throwing him from Ealdor into Camelot where his magic was discovered, and he was burnt on a pyre.
He bolted up, gasping and the heat of his fevered dreams reminding him of the flames. He thought of Sir Leon and remembered the way to his post, so gathered up a blanket to cover himself and went to seek out the knight.
When he got to the post, he peered around as he did the night before, but this time couldn't discern one guard from the other. Carefully he called out to his friend. "Leon?"
The four guards turned, and Merlin's eyes widened in horror. Not one of them was the knight in question. "Well, well, what do we have here? A street rat, sneaking around the palace."
"I wasn't sneaking. I was searching," Merlin replied, backing away as the much larger man approached him. The other three were snickering, looking for trouble.
"Searching then? Searching for what? Diamonds? Golds? Are you a little thief, boy? Do you know what we do to thieving children?" The guard slapped him on the same side Emun had, and Merlin fell to the ground.
He took a moment to recover. His face had still been tender from Ealdor. In that time, the guard went to attack him again. Prepared for it, as the guard lunged for him, Merlin picked up his blanket and threw it at him. It fell over his head, blinding him for long enough to allow Merlin to escape.
He turned the corner and ran. "Halt!" He looked over his shoulder to see the guards chasing after him, his blanket thrown to the ground. But Merlin was small and lithe and ran a lot faster than the muscled men and their heavy armour.
He didn't want to go back to Gaius's chambers and lead them there. He was afraid if he got into trouble, Gaius would throw him out of Camelot and then where would he go?
Up ahead, Merlin saw the familiar gargoyle. Recognising it as the one that Arthur had walked him passed on the way to his chambers the night he took him from the stocks, he took a hard right and bolted. Leon said Arthur was your friend... Let's see how friendly he is now with guards chasing me?
He ran up the stairs and down the hall, reaching Arthur's chambers before the guards could see where he turned. He fumbled with the door, but once he was inside, he clambered over to the bed and shook the prince awake. Arthur leapt up and looked around then spotted Merlin's panicked eyes and partly swollen face. "Merlin?" he said, genuinely surprised, not having seen him since their return.
"Hide me!" he begged. They both looked up at the sound of guards feet stomping down the hall and without a better idea, Arthur yanked Merlin into his bed and hid him under the covers, pulling them over the both of them.
The guard's footsteps halted, and Merlin held his breath when they stopped outside his door. There was a sharp knock at the door, and Arthur stilled Merlin with one hand on his chest. The door opened quietly when no one responded, and the quiet clang of armour signalled one of the men were approaching.
"Prince Arthur?" Merlin recognised the guard's voice as the one who had tried to attack him, and he made an involuntary noise in the back of his throat, much like a whimper. Arthur raised his hand up and tightened it around Merlin's mouth. He sat up slowly, pretending to be weary despite the fact his blood was pumping with energy.
"Hmm?" He looked over his blankets, keeping Merlin tucked into his side where the small lump he made would be indistinguishable from the rest of Arthur's body. "What is it?"
"Sire, may we search your chambers? We saw a peasant boy run this way."
"And what did he do?" Arthur asked.
"He attacked us, down in the chambers before the dungeons." Merlin shook his head under the blanket, but Arthur spread his fingers out over his face and squeezed to still him. Merlin whimpered again as Arthur's fingers dug into the fresh bruise on his face, but the heel of the Prince's palm muffled the sound.
"Have you sounded the alarm?"
The guard hesitated. "We felt no need. He was merely a child."
"A child who attacked you?" The guard hesitated again, but Arthur gave him no time to respond. "How did he attack you exactly?"
The guard paused then said. "He tried to blind us... With a blanket."
Arthur nodded. "I see. Well then, search my chambers. I'm sure you'll find my room free of all dangerous blanket-wielding children." The guard wasn't sure if Arthur was serious or not but finally called his fellows to enter and search Arthur's room. Merlin prayed to every deity they wouldn't see the trembling lump clutched tightly to Arthur's side.
Arthur watched them from his awkward half lean in his bed and waited until they appeared to have finished. "Well then?"
"Nothing, Sire."
"Well, I suggest you go back to your posts because in this time a great many could have gotten out of the dungeons and escaped. I'll stay awake just in case the bells toll, shall I?" The guards all seemed to realise at the same time they had let the dungeons unattended and all rushed out, closing the door behind them.
Arthur breathed a sigh of relief then pulled the covers down to peer at Merlin beneath. "You are becoming more trouble than you're worth, Merlin."
He had meant it as a joke, trying to calm him. Instead, his only words confirmed what Merlin had feared ever since his mother told him to go to Camelot. That no one truly wanted him.
His bottom lip trembled, and he curled up in on himself, trying to hold back the tears. He didn't want to cry in front of Arthur. He barely knew him! But his body didn't want to cooperate with his brain as he gasped for air and cried.
Arthur was shocked and then gaped. "I... I didn't mean... Oh no. Stop crying. I... I command you!"
But at the same time as Arthur spoke, a sob had bubbled up in the back of his throat, and he choked on it as he blubbered out. "I just... Want... To go... Home," he said, repeating his words from the previous night and feeling awfully childish but refusing to let go of the fact that he was still a child and had no idea how to act.
Arthur winced and very gently touched his shoulder. Merlin leant into it and, quite unexpectedly, fell into Arthur's unwilling open arms and cried into his nightshirt. "Fair warning. I'm not good with my emotions, let alone others," Arthur said, patting his back awkwardly.
But it seemed, all Merlin needed was to cry. Arthur waited out the sobs. Eventually, they all went away, and Merlin was only sniffling. He looked up at Arthur, his lashes clumped together with tears and said, "Thanks."
"You're welcome, I suppose." Though Arthur wasn't terribly sure what he had done, or even if he was comfortable with it yet. He had no idea how crying solved any sort of problems. He was still confused at to why he had cried twice in one week. "You know... This is only your second night. Give it time, and Camelot can be your home too."
Merlin shook his head. "It will never be home. Home is with my mother and Will."
Arthur wanted to tell him otherwise, but the look of heartbreak on his face was horrible. It was then he noticed the hand shaped bruise on his face with a long fresh bloodied slit Merlin had yet to notice, made from the gauntlet scratching his skin. "What happened? Did the guards do that?"
Timidly, Merlin touched his face and hissed at the pain, pulling his fingers back and finding blood. "S'pose so. He hit me."
"Why? Why were you in the dungeons?"
"Honestly I didn't know where I was. Last night I was cold, and I couldn't sleep and went for a walk. I found Leon standing guard down there. He got me blankets and took me back to my chambers. Then tonight I had a nightmare and went down to find him again. Only he wasn't there."
"The Knights only spend one night a week with the guards to ensure they are working properly. It is on a roster," Arthur murmured more to himself. "Why did he hit you?"
"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me where Leon was and accused me of being a thief. When he hit me, I fell and threw my blanket over him. Then I ran. I wasn't going to come here, but I recognised the gargoyle at the end of your hall." Merlin curled up into himself further. "I'm not going to be executed, am I?"
Arthur laughed then coughed to cover up his amusement. "Um... No. I don't think my father executes people for having bad dreams."
"I really don't think that would be what he'd accuse me of." His voice was dark, laced with images of his nightmare on the pyre. "Does he even know I'm here?"
"No, not really."
They sat together quietly for a while, both of them questioning what to do next. "You can't go out. They'll be searching for you," Arthur said, answering the unasked question of what they were to do. "And I could find Leon and get him to smuggle you back, only he's probably asleep, and I can never remember where his lodgings are."
Merlin started crawling out of bed. "I can sneak back. I think I know the way."
It took a moment, but Arthur stopped Merlin, grabbing the back his collar. "Wait. What about this nightmare?"
"What about it?"
"Well, obviously it was bad. What were you going to do with Leon?"
"I don't know... I suppose not sleep." He frowned a little. "Honestly, I rarely think these things through."
Arthur scoffed at the under-exaggeration and Merlin glared as though he read his mind. "Now if you'll let me go..."
But Arthur hauled him back in the bed by his collar. "Nope. As I said, the guards will be on high alert trying to find you. You made them look like fools, and they probably won't forget it. So I suggest you stay here."
"What will I do?" Merlin asked, confused.
"Well Merlin, it's the middle of the night so you could possibly, I dunno... Sleep?"
"But..."
"If you have a nightmare, I'll wake you up. And... And if I have one you'll do the same," Arthur added the last part reluctantly. He hadn't taken his potion that night, or the night before, unwilling to ask Gaius for more. The nightmares had plagued him, and Arthur had barely slept. But now he had a sleeping buddy, almost – though he would never actually admit that. He laid back on his pillow then cleared aside the opposite side of his bed and shoved Merlin onto it. "There. You sleep there, I sleep here. Now goodnight Merlin."
With a sharp gaze in his direction, Merlin relented more so because he was too tired to do otherwise. "Goodnight, Arthur," Merlin said, curling up under the covers.
The sound of the crackling fire from the hearth, the warmth of the blankets and softest bed in the world doubled with the faint smell of wood burning that reminded him of home, soon had Merlin drifting off.
Nightmares did strike him that night, but for each of them, Arthur woke Merlin up with a firm shake before they could be remembered, and by morning he only had wisps of images in his head. To his surprise, Arthur had nightmares too, only his caused him to beat his pillow down over his ears to cover phantom noises, so whenever Merlin felt the bed shift beside him, he woke and started poking Arthur until he opened his eyes.
After catching only a few fitful hours of sleep between the two of them, Merlin woke just in time to see the sunrise. He twisted underneath the covers and closed his eyes to catch a bit more sleep when a soft snore reminded Merlin of exactly where he was. Wouldn't he have a manservant come and wake him up around this time?
Not wanting to be seen by anyone, Merlin snuck out of bed, briefly glancing at Arthur who had both arms curled up underneath him. His pillow was missing, tossed aside in the midst of a nightmare and never replaced. Merlin laughed quietly at that and left the chambers and headed back to his own.
A little down the hall from the physician's chambers, he heard Gaius's voice. "Merlin? Merlin!" With a frown, he scurried up the last few steps and entered the chambers.
"Gaius?" he called out.
Gaius turned and faced Merlin, relief washing over his face. "My boy, where were you?" he cried, darting forward and hugging him. "I went to wake you for breakfast, but you weren't there. What happened to your face?"
"I..." he hesitated then told Gaius everything from the end of the dream to sneaking out of Arthur's room and explained the previous night with Sir Leon. "Merlin, you know you could have come to me," Gaius said, sadly.
Merlin smiled. "Now I do."
Gaius sighed a little then hugged him again to make sure he was alright. He went off and started making an ointment for his bruise and broken skin. Merlin went to prepare breakfast for the two of them. Just as he finished applying the ointment and Merlin had started breakfast, the door opened and in strode Arthur. "Ah, Merlin. You're alive."
"Counting your blessings?" Merlin replied cheekily.
"Trust me. You are not one of the ones I count. Anyway, I thought seeing as Camelot is your new home you should explore it."
"It's okay, Arthur. Gwen and Morgana showed me all around the castle yesterday."
Arthur faltered and looked disappointed in himself then stood up as a thought passed through his head. "Ah, yes but have you seen the town?"
Merlin chewed through his oatmeal, oblivious as ever. "Gaius was planning on showing me today."
Arthur's face dropped, and only Gaius registered it. "Actually Merlin, I won't be going to the lower town until evening and aren't you having dinner with Gwen?"
"Guinevere?" Arthur laughed. "You're having dinner with Guinevere!"
"Yep," Merlin said with a charming grin. "I get invited places, Arthur. Who was the last person to invite you to a dinner?" Arthur tried to reply, but no words came out. "That's what I thought."
"Come on. Before I change my mind."
Merlin grinned. "Let me change. I'm still in my nightshirt."
All in all, Merlin had four nightmares in his first week in Camelot, and each time he'd go straight to Arthur's room, occasionally sleeping on the floor by the fire and waking up to find himself in the bed and the prince thrashing and gripping his hands to his ears.
Morgana and Gwen allowed Merlin to join their 'inner circle' of sorts. The girls showed him much of Camelot and taught him some of the etiquettes while he taught them things he knew like trapping and releasing small wild animals that took refuge in their homes, and how to spin clay.
Camelot was far from his home, but Merlin decided, as he convinced Morgana maybe cake for lunch every day wasn't the best thing for her health and forced her to eat an apple a little over a fortnight later, that he might call it home yet.
A/N: Every reviewer gets a cookie!
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