Oh Hai... Remember me? I may have gotten distracted by life and had to put this on hold for a little while. In my defense, I do have several chapters written and am in the process of editing them. I'm really sorry about the long wait. Work got crazy, and I went through a few personal things as well. Thanks so much to wryter501 for her continued input and nljfs for Betaing the chapter for me. I can't promise an update schedule, though I swear I'll never take this long between chapters again. Maybe every 2 weeks or so. I promise I will not abandon this story, though. I will finish it. As always IDOM. But I wish I did.

"I'm sorry," he whispered as his mentor held his hand up and waved him off.

"You are within your right to be upset. I'm just glad that you're all right. I was worried."

"I know, and I'm sorry for that too."

Merlin collapsed on the four-poster bed in his new chambers, more exhausted than he wanted to admit to any of them, most of all Gaius. The return trip had been slow, due to the transport of Maria, the injured young girl who had seemed beyond saving. Merlin healed her head injury shortly after his discussion with Manafort, but Arthur had still wanted to interrogate her. The prospect made the warlock nervous considering the conversation that had occurred in her presence and his recollection of what Morgana had overheard in a similar state, years prior.

Being only himself, Arthur, and Cador, the return trip was awkward, and there were very few opportunities for private conversation, especially about his father's identity. The two Pendragons had been cordial but aloof, and Merlin had vowed to have a talk with the Cerniw knight about his wariness of Camelot's King. If he was honest with himself, conversation with Cador, beyond polite pleasantries, was still awkward for Merlin as well. He could only imagine how the King felt about it. Cador was Arthur's first cousin and a much closer relation to Arthur than to him. Still, he felt an overwhelming curiosity toward the man, and the knowledge of his family the Knight was privy to. He could only imagine it was much more so for Arthur, who had grown up believing he had no surviving family, outside of his mother's brother, who had only shown up for more than a casual visit, when his father grew ill, then promptly betrayed him.

"I've only ever tried to protect you, boys." Gaius's voice brought him back to the present, the guilt in the old man's eyes unnerving him.

"I know that." Merlin nodded quietly, "but it shouldn't have been kept from me."

He was still upset with his guardian, even if it was petulant, time would be needed to forgive him for withholding such vital information.

"You're reckless enough without that knowledge. It's one thing to have magic; it's quite another to have magic and be a monarch of a kingdom Camelot has declared war on. The likelihood Arthur would have found out and turned on you were higher, especially while Uther was alive."

"Do you think he will? Turn on me, I mean?" Merlin whispered, his mind returning to the previous conversation with Cador and Manafort.

"I don't know my boy, I'd like to think he wouldn't, but he will be under tremendous pressure to do just that. I foresee very trying times ahead for both of you. Forgive an old man for trying to spare you both that, until you were ready to face it."

"We're not children, anymore, and ignorance is a powerful weapon. For all the honorable intentions, we walked into an ambush, unaware. We have no choice but to face it."

Merlin felt bad admonishing his guardian, but too much was at risk. This situation was so much bigger than hurt feelings. Two Kingdoms and the lives of everyone in them hung in the balance. The more he thought about it, the heavier the weight of it felt on his shoulders. He didn't need the extra burden of wondering if there were any shoes left to drop.

Gaius nodded wistfully in acknowledgment. "I suppose it is time to recognize you are both grown men and capable of taking care of yourselves. But I worry about him learning of your magic, Merlin. If you intend to tell him, at least wait until you've come of age, and can..."

"I have to remind him who my father was, at least. It won't be long before people make the connection. Some already have. It will reach his ears eventually. I'd rather it came from me."

"Be that as it may until you can enter Cerniw, should he react poorly, you may find yourself, and all those loyal to you, trapped."

All those loyal to you. Surely Arthur would not take it out on Gaius, though Merlin couldn't be one hundred percent sure of it. He knew Arthur would not stoop to execution, but the King was plenty angry about all of this already, so he couldn't rule tantrum induced imprisonment out, even if it were short term. Then again, Arthur was far from the only concern. Many people hated magic as much as Uther, and Arthur couldn't be everywhere at once. There was no way to know if others would strike out against all the people he cared about, whether they were loyal to Arthur, or not. Gaius's history and connection to magic was not a secret to the court; he could become a target. Of course, all of it would be moot if the passage Manafort had spoken of could be located.

"Manafort mentioned something about a passage King Aurelianus had built before Uther turned against magic."

Merlin watched his guardian carefully, gauging his reaction as the old man's eyebrows lifted into his hairline. "He said, if I can find it, and open it; I may be able to pass through it. More importantly, I can move my mother through it, should things become dangerous, here. You know I wouldn't leave you behind."

Gaius nodded, apprehensively, "I do know that, but opening it is not that simple. That passage is the reason I chose this room when Arthur instructed me to arrange your quarters. I had hoped your mother would notice and be the one to inform you of it, but it seems Manafort has beaten us to it." Gaius smiled, a hint of mischief his in eyes, as he patted the warlock on the shoulder and made his way across the chamber. "Arthur's mother and her sister, Elaine, primarily used them to pass back and forth between the kingdoms. There is one here in Camelot, and a nearly identical one in Cerniw that opens in what used to be Benoic's citadel."

"There are two? He only spoke of one." Merlin watched his guardian curiously as he pushed a bookcase to the side revealing a door hidden behind it.

"Your grandfather only created one passage, your father created the second one in Cerniw, with King Ban's help, at Uther's request."

"Uther asked for it?" Merlin blinked, as his jaw dropped. He had heard the old king ask for magic once before, but the idea of it still rattled him.

"Yes," Gaius nodded. "Ygraine nearly turned down the betrothal to Uther to stay close to her sister and your Mother. The passage your grandfather created between Cerniw and Camelot modified an existing door. Since there was only the one here, they created the passage leading to Benoic, in Cerniw. When Elaine wished to pass through to Camelot, she would have to go through both kingdoms."

Merlin marveled at the thought, and couldn't help but wonder how different life might have been for all had Ygraine survived Arthur's birth.

"The passage was open and used for years by the royal families until your father banished Uther from Cerniw and closed it permanently, preventing anyone but himself, from opening, or passing through it."

"Why was he banished?" Merlin wasn't about to let an opportunity to understand what happened between them go, though the look on his guardian's face let him know the attempt was pointless.

"I do not pretend to know every aspect of the complexity of their relationship, and I won't regale you with rumor."

"Fine." Merlin nodded, slightly frustrated, but willing to let it go for now if only to get the information about the passageway he wanted.

"So, my father could open it and come to Camelot, but Uther couldn't do the same?"

"Yes. Not that Bal would have done. Your father vowed never to step foot in Camelot again, and he kept to that for quite some time. Uther was furious about being cut off from the doorway, but your father would not be swayed. After Ygraine's death, Uther threw everything he had at the door, first attempting to open it, then trying to destroy it."

"If only my father could open it, that pretty much ends it then. He's dead."

"Not necessarily. The way Aurelianus built it, the ability to open the door would be passed on to a blood heir with a legitimate claim to the throne, by ascension."

"Which means I can open it, but Arthur can't?" Merlin wasn't sure how he felt about that, and he was positive Arthur would throw a fit over the restriction.

"It's possible. Whether the banishment and loss of such a privilege extended to Uther's heirs or not, I do not know. Your ability to open the door when you were King was never in doubt, the issue is getting to it. Uther sealed it off."

"I have to try."

With that Gaius nodded, opening the nondescript door at the back of the room, revealing nothing but a solid stone wall behind it.

"This room was turned into chambers after the passage was locked, and Uther realized he could not tear down the drum tower containing it without tearing down the entire citadel. Before that, this room was a receiving chamber, and beyond these stones is a stairwell leading to the office and quarters of the Court Sorcerer. The passage uses a door within that stairwell."

"Camelot had a Court Sorcerer?" Once again, the idea that this all existed at a time when Uther was King floored him.

"As hard as it must be for you to imagine, it was common back then. All the kingdoms had one, and your father was proficient in magic for one not instructed by the Priests or Priestesses. More importantly, Uther trusted him, so it was he, that filled the role before Arthur's birth."

"So, it's not just a passageway beyond there, it's my father's office, and chambers?" Merlin looked at the door again longingly, wondering what, if anything, of the man he longed to know so much more about, had been left in the rooms that Uther had entombed decades before.

"Indeed," Gaius nodded, "not that he used them much. Bal preferred Cerniw. The rooms here were mostly ceremonial, but no less, official."

Merlin nodded his understanding, running his hand over the stones, as his magic searched for a weakness he could exploit.

"Surely you realize blasting through that wall will alert Arthur, and the rest of the castle."

"Who said I was going to blast through them?" Merlin moved toward the bed, with a grin, bending to lift a floorboard that was not there. "All I need to do is magic the wall away, and then magic it…ugh," the warlock groaned, realizing he was no longer in his old room, before whispering a summoning spell, bringing the old leather tome to his hands.

"And where do you think you're going to hide that, in here?" Gaius raised his brow at his ward, now flipping through the book. "If George doesn't find it, he'll certainly walk in on you at some point."

"George?"

"Yes, or have you forgotten you are royalty now? You don't have a staff of your own. Arthur wouldn't risk it being taken as an offense to your kingdom if he didn't provide you with amenities befitting your status. "

"He knows I wouldn't be offended; he was trying to be a prat." Merlin huffed in annoyance, confident the young king planned to enjoy every minute of his discomfort.

"Don't be so sure. You were unconscious, and Sir Cador and Galahad are easily offended, especially when they arrived. Being a prat, as you say, was likely a bonus."

"Without a doubt," Merlin rolled his eyes, worried by the development. "I can always count on Arthur's sense of nobility to complicate things."

"Indeed," Gaius agreed.

"Well, I need to find a way to make it work." Merlin murmured to himself, as he thumbed through the book. This passage was more than a potential escape route; it was an answer to the problem he had been trying to work out since his conversation with the dragon.

Deep down, he didn't think it would come to his needing escape – at least he hoped it didn't. But it would allow him to figure things out in Cerniw, while also continuing his duty in Camelot. He would not abandon his friend, even if his friend temporarily abandoned him. Thinking back to his conversation with Kilgharrah, if it was a literal doorway, as Gaius implied, this must be what he meant by knowledge of the past opening doors to the future. He also liked the idea of having an exit in case of emergency, not just for himself, but for Arthur, Gwen, and the knights. If Morgana managed to capture Camelot again, the strategy was brilliant. This passage would be an asset in keeping his friends safe, should the need arise. He'd just need to find a way to convince Arthur, and hope he'd overlook the magic to see the wisdom in it.

"He didn't fill the entire tower in did he? Because if I can detach each stone and move it, I might not have to blast through it, at all." Merlin looked back to his guardian, apprehension lining the older man's face.

"No," Gaius finally responded, with a curt shake of his head. "Only the doorway was filled in to cut off access to the stairwell beyond it. But, that would require a lot of magic and concentration, in your condition…"

"I'm fine."

Pushing all of his energy into the stones, Merlin began the task of detaching each one, dissolving the masonry that held them together, and moving them one by one, carefully stacking them within the tower stairwell that slowly appeared beyond it. Finally, after an hour, the winded warlock carefully cleared the last of the stones, and stepped into the drum tower, sneezing as cobwebs and dust assaulted him. A quick wave of his hand saw the offending particles dissipate giving him his first look inside the tower that once housed his father's office.

It didn't look any different than the tower stairwell that led to the physician's chambers he had called home, with the exception that there was no entrance from the outside and it was completely closed off. Merlin couldn't help but wonder what might be below the floor he now stood on, since his chambers were on the second floor of the Citadel. At the back of the circular room, a winding staircase led up to what he was sure were the chambers above, though the stairs leading down were crudely filled in with stones. Knowing his curiosity would eventually get the best of him, he made a mental note to investigate what was on the floor below, later.

"Have I ever told you, you're a genius?" Gaius shook his head, marveling at the stones, now stacked neatly on the other side of the door.

"You might have gotten close once or twice," the warlock huffed leaning back against the wall, wiping perspiration from his brow. The concentration needed not to drop the stones and stack them in a way that wouldn't cause them to collapse, had drained him, though he'd play it off to his mentor, for fear he'd be ordered back to bed.

"You amaze me." Gaius shook his head, "I know of none that could have completed the feat of magic so quietly and quickly, and still manage to stand at the end of it."

"It wasn't that difficult, really, just detaching the stones in a way that they wouldn't cause the rest to fall…"

"Yes, that's why you look like you're going to fall over." Gaius raised his brow, turning to take his leave. "I think that's plenty enough for the night. That door isn't going anywhere. To bed with you, you can attempt it once you've rested."

"I'm fine." Merlin murmured stubbornly, his eyes locking onto a door to the right of the staircase, and the faint thrum of magic he could now sense radiating from it. He was certain it had once been a broom closet, similar to those found all through the citadel. A door such as this would easily be overlooked by an invading army. King Aurelianus had overlooked nothing in his attempt to secure an escape route for the royal family. A small gasp escaped his lips, as he ran his hand over the wood, and the magic embedded within it tingled beneath his fingertips. The idea that King Aurelianus was his grandfather was still foreign and strange to him, but the magic he could feel radiating off the former closet, was not - it sang to him in a way he would never be able to explain to any other living being, except, maybe, Kilgharrah. This wasn't merely magic from the dragon, it was mixed with the magic of his ancestor, and the connection was as thrilling as it was intriguing. He could feel his grandfather's instruction, his pride, and strength, as surely as he felt his father with him on the day he commanded the dragon for the first time. Whispering the command that reverberated through his soul as the magic recognized him as kin, he shouted triumphantly at the loud click, and he easily pulled the door open.

"It worked" he grinned as the old physician looked on in awe.

"Now comes the hard part," Gaius raised his brow, staring at the door wistfully. "The enchantment is a strong one even your father could not undo without meeting its conditions. I fear until your naming day, crossing it may be an impossibility."

The passage was as he thought, a simple broom closet, with the exception the wall at its back appeared mostly translucent alerting him to the enchantment used to mask its appearance. To anyone else, it looked like a solid wall which he quickly confirmed with Gaius, who still seemed dumbfounded at the ease in which he had managed to open it. Uther must have gone for the same effect when he'd sealed off the chamber, and he had to admit, it was effective.

"I should know better than to underestimate your abilities, my boy, but should you manage to cross, your appearance there will cause quite a stir. You would do well to remember people in Cerniw still communicate with friends and family outside the kingdom by letter, and there is a traitor in both courts. There's no way of knowing how long it will take to reach Arthur's ear should you make your presence known." Gaius warned as Merlin nodded, held his breath, and stepped through the haze.

A sudden shift in energy around her caused her to stiffen, eyes wide as a noise she had only heard one other time in her life reverberated through her, gaining in intensity by the minute. The dragons were approaching.

"My Lady?" Ava set the pitcher on the table and stared at the Princess with concern. "What is it?"

"I don't know... the dragon," Niviane stammered jumping out of the chair and rushing out of the room, down the corridor and out onto the battlements, joining the townspeople below staring at both dragons circling over the inner bailey spitting flame, with bewilderment.

It was an incredible display, as the smoke from their flame quickly changed to blue and silver, and began to morph into an image, likely visible to the entire kingdom, and perhaps beyond.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lord Murdoch asked as he moved next to her, watching the display in wonderment.

"Merlin must have crossed the enchantment, and they're announcing him. I can think of no other explanation for this."

"By the Goddess, could it be? How," the balding man stuttered.

"There." She pointed as the small white dragon dove toward the citadel and hovered in front of a now open window beating her wings wildly.

"He's right there," she laughed at the sight of the excited dragon chirping at the raven-haired man standing in front the window, before shooting back up into the sky and joining her older counterpart in completing the smoky Ambrosius crest they were creating.

She looked back to the window to find him staring at the sky in awe, a grin covering his face as the Dragons completed their work. His shoulders were much broader than she remembered, but then he'd been lying down and injured, so she hadn't gotten a good look at him. His dark blue tunic was befitting a man of his station, and she found she was pleased he was no longer dressed in rags like he'd been wearing that fateful day.

Cador and Galahad must have completed their mission, successfully. She gave a sigh of relief at the thought, having spent the last week worried over the Knights and Merlin's fate, despite the report she'd gotten when the large contingent of men they'd traveled with had returned, days prior. Begrudgingly she was impressed Arthur must have accepted and acknowledged Merlin's ancestry, while Uther wouldn't have hesitated to execute him for it. Perhaps her cousin wasn't the lost cause she'd assumed him to be. Oddly, she found she sincerely hoped that to be the case.

The attention of the people in the square below had turned from the smoky crest in the sky, towards the window as Kilgharrah flew as close as he was able, and inclined his head reverently to the warlock. Dawning comprehension of who stood there quickly turned the mystified hum into a chorus of cheers and shouts, drawing the man's attention from the now retreating dragons, to the people below. Niviane watched him curiously, as his smile turned into apprehension. Giving a small wave to the crowds below him, he closed the window and quickly disappeared from view.

"Find Lucan," she called out to the maid as she turned back into the castle, Ector falling into step beside her.

"How?" She asked finally realizing he'd had to have magicked his way past the wards to just show up in the castle, and that didn't even account for crossing the enchantment to get into the kingdom.

"I've got a pretty good idea," he called out as he rushed ahead of her towards the Royal chambers.

"Where is he?" Niviane murmured with disappointment as they entered the room, noting how empty it was, save for the furniture that had been there since long before she was born. Had she not seen the warlock with her own eyes, she'd have never guessed anyone had been in the chambers, save the manservant tasked with their upkeep.

"It appears he's gone, the way he came." The older man nodded toward the open door in the antechamber adjacent to the suite reserved for the King and Queen. Stopping her frantic search of the large suite, she approached the closet incredulously. "My brother must have told him of the door," Ector whistled, now standing in front of the faux closet.

"It's an empty closet," the princess deadpanned, looking at her unofficial guardian with confusion.

"No, my dear, the wall at the back is an enchantment, it's as real as those rocks on the border, to those who cannot pass.

"And to those who can?"

"It opens to one of Camelot's many towers, it's been closed for many years for obvious reasons."

"But how? If this has been here, surely King Balinor would have used it to return; it makes no sense."

"The level of magic used to create this is beyond my knowledge, I only know Aurelianus created it with the help of the dragons. I can't pretend to know how it works. However, I do know it's been inaccessible. The tower that houses it is very near the royal residences, and from what I understand, Uther had half of his guard camped out in that corridor until Arthur was old enough to start asking questions. Balinor would never have risked his family attempting to reach it."

"So how do we cross it?" Niviane asked hopefully, intrigued by the possibility such a door made possible.

"You don't," Merlin answered, snorting with amusement as the princess and court physician spun to face him. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

The room fell awkwardly silent, as neither the princess nor the court physician had realized Merlin had been leaning against a cupboard just beyond the antechamber, in the larger suite, silently watching them.

Recovering quickly, Niviane gave a small curtsey, even as she struggled not to curse out loud at the warlock not making himself known, sooner.

"You know magicking your way past the wards is impressive, but opening a portal between kingdoms is kind of showing off." Niviane smiled, now thoroughly intrigued with the warlock, as he leaned his head back and laughed.

"I wish I could take credit for it, it's a brilliant piece of magic, but created long before me. Niviane, I presume?"

"My lord," she nodded with concern, "it's good to see you well."

"All thanks to you, but please, just Merlin. I'm still working out the whole titles thing,"

"Of course. I know that I'm responsible for all of this being sprung on you like it has, I wouldn't blame you, if you're cross with me."

"No, I'm not" he turned toward her his expression serious. "I should have been told of all of this long before now. I needed to know."

"Well I'm glad for that then," the princess smiled, nodding toward the rooms they stood in. "I suppose I should formally welcome you to Cerniw. These are your chambers, though it seems you've already seen them in your grand entrance. Would you like a tour of the rest of the castle?"

"Yeah, about that. I hadn't anticipated that was going to happen," the warlock rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I was only trying to see if I could cross before my naming day. I had no intention of making my presence known here, at least not yet."

"So what shall I tell the council? The entire kingdom knows that you're here."

"I don't know, but it's important you don't reveal how I got here." He looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to put you in an awkward position, but I need to keep the knowledge of that door and, if possible, my presence here, to a restricted number of people." Merlin looked around the room, nodding to the older man.

"This is Ector, our court physician," Niviane offered, noticing his gaze change as he sized up the small group that had assembled in the room.

"Gaius's brother?"

"Indeed, I am," the physician inclined his head, stepping forward with a grin splitting his wrinkled face. "I've heard much about you in our letters. Gaius is so very proud of you; he never hesitates to brag. It's truly an honor to finally make your acquaintance."

"I'm sure he's embellished all of it," the warlock grinned, waving off the small bow the old man provided, shaking his hand instead.

"I doubt it, though the way you're favoring your side and leaning on that cupboard makes me wonder why he's allowed you out of bed."

"If he had his way I'd be in bed for the next fortnight. I'm afraid I make for a terrible patient. I'm fine, really," he waved the older man off, turning his attention to a stocky young man with freckles generously sprinkled across his thin face, and the dark-haired maid, standing off to the side watching him curiously.

"This is Ava, my maid, and her brother, Lucan," the princess continued, as the two servants inclined their heads, despite the warlock's obvious discomfort. "I assure you all present have the highest level of trust within the royal household and will keep anything said here in confidence. I presume Cador and Galahad are already privy to this information?"

"Cador is, yes. Galahad will be when he returns to Camelot with my mother. I intend to pass her through once I've determined it's safe to do so."

"Of course it's safe for her," Niviane started, scandalized by the notion Merlin thought it wouldn't be.

"Until I can determine what is going on and what role Morgana plays in it, the safest place for my mother is with me." The tone of the warlock's voice brokered no argument, as the smile slipped from his face. "Which reminds me, I need to know what you know about Morgana's conspirator, and any activity that is occurring near the mount. We have reason to believe her forces are gathering there."

"Mount Batten?" Niviane inquired, noting the change from nervous but casual to serious and self-assured. It was a subtle indication the man in front of them was friendly, but not one to take lightly. A quick glance at the others in the room confirmed she wasn't the only one who had noticed the shift in demeanor.

"I know very little, to be honest." Niviane sighed, resigned to the necessity of the conversation, no matter how unpleasant. "Initially, I believed my Uncle Ricard, to be responsible, but we found him shortly after the attack, unresponsive in his rooms."

"He's been poisoned, but by whom, we don't yet know," Ector added, apologetically. "I've done what I can for him, including administering the antidote, but I fear we may have gotten to him too late. It's possible he will not awaken at all."

"And the mount?"

"Once those who land there realize they cannot pass the enchantment at our shores, they tend to leave very quickly. We've not paid much attention to it, figuring our resources are better spent elsewhere, though there have been a few recent reports of wolves howling into the night."

"Beasts…" Merlin mused out loud.

"I'm sorry?" Niviane tilted her head in confusion at the warlock now lost in thought.

"Sorry," Merlin shook his head. "We intercepted a separate missive mentioning the mount and beasts gathering, there. We also know the Druids are leaving the area and have made mention of the same, though we know little more than that. Whatever is occurring there is connected to Morgana, of that, I'm certain."

"I'll send a patrol, at first light," Niviane nodded. "Will you be staying here or returning to Camelot, so I know where to direct their findings?"

"I'll be returning to Camelot, but I'll cross back and forth as much as I'm able."

"So you're going to be living in two kingdoms at the same time?"

"Living there, and visiting here. But Arthur can't know that, so I have to be careful. He'll notice if I'm constantly missing, and I've got the added problem of trying to hide all of this from George. I don't expect I'll be here much, unless it's late at night."

"Who is George?"

"The most insufferable manservant in Camelot, and my biggest obstacle. Cador and Galahad are not going to be able to use the 'sleeping draught due to injury, so no manservant allowed' excuse for very long."

"If Arthur has recognized your station, you're entitled to staff of your own."

"I am, but finding one in Camelot that's aware of my magic, trustworthy, and ok with all of this is asking a little much."

"Nonsense, you have Lucan. He's been trained to be your servant since he was a small boy, there's no reason he can't serve you in both kingdoms. He's got a little bit of magic, so you'll have to make sure he doesn't use it in Camelot, but he's one of the most trusted in the royal household. He wouldn't blink at the prospect of passing through the enchantment. He knows the business of the court and would be able to help you in anything you needed to keep your time straight. It'll provide you cover, and he's certainly not going to tell Arthur."

Merlin looked over to the short, stocky young man being spoken about as if he was not there.

"Are you all right with that?"

"Yes, Sire."

"Merlin. And, no, I need to know you're ok with it and not just saying you are because you believe it's your duty to do so. Magic is illegal in Camelot, and things are about to get very tricky over there for me when Arthur does finally figure out I've got it. I expect that will extend to those closely associated with me. Arthur's not his father, he wouldn't execute you based on your association with me, but I wouldn't put it past him to arrest you until he calms down. We're sneaking around, and you would be one of a growing number of people I'm responsible for getting to safety should it come to that. I won't allow you to cross unless you're entirely sure, understand the risks, and make the decision on your own. Arthur and his knights cannot find out about this door, so if you've any reservations…"

"I have none, Sire. I know I can't use magic in Camelot, nor will I."

"Merlin. If you do and you get caught and especially if I get caught, you make directly for my chambers and through that door and do not come back. Do not wait, do not stop, do not hesitate, do not look back, even if you must use magic to get away. Just, please try not to hurt anyone."

"I understand."

"As far as Arthur goes I need to know you have no apprehension toward him because near me you will likely be around him often."

"I understand that you seek peace with Camelot's King and follow that example, Sire. I would sooner die than be the cause of anything that would bring shame or embarrassment to my king or kingdom."

"Merlin."

"Of course, Sire."