It was a couple weeks into filming series four when Colin found a note left on his pillow.

I figured out the key. Sleep tight.

-M

He looked at it in confusion but decided it was probably part of a prank. He blamed Katie. Just in case she had any plans for sneaking in tonight, Colin slid the deadlock shut in addition to the normal lock. But he put the note out of his mind and it was forgotten by the time his eyes closed.

Merlin's spirit was waiting impatiently for the Irishman to fall asleep. As soon as he did, the warlock lept into his dream. He had to steady himself as the dream world finished forming beneath his feet.

"Wow, you are eager tonight," a wry voice commented from behind him. Merlin spun to see Colin staring at him with his arms crossed over his chest. "I'm guessing the cryptic note was from you?"

"It wasn't that cryptic," Merlin protested.

"It is if I can't remember that I am taking secret magic lessons from Merlin in my dreams once I awake in the morning."

"Fair point. But," a large grin spread across Merlin's face, "that is exactly what I figured out."

Colin stared at him in astonishment. "You mean I'll be able to remember all of the lessons we've had so far?" Merlin nodded. "And any future ones?" Another nod. "And will I...?" he trailed off, hesitant to voice his hopes.

"You will be able to use magic in daily life, yes," Merlin confirmed.

The normally reserved man launched into a wild dance of joy, spinning in circles and laughing. When he calmed down slightly, Merlin sat him down on the grass and explained the process while pulling various crystals out of thin air. He set them in a pattern to enhance memory and connection with self and some other things. Truthfully, Merlin was still guessing at the use of the crystals, but he was trusting his instincts on that. It felt odd to be doing such a powerful spell in a dream world and he honestly wasn't too sure what might happen. As a backup plan, he instructed Colin to take a few days to let his brain sort itself out and try some simple spells while awake before coming to find him.

"How will I find you? For all I know, you could be in Australia."

Merlin smirked. "I'm a lot closer than that." He held up a hand to stop Colin from asking further questions and began the long incantation.

Colin sat up with a start, immediately clutching his head in pain. He couldn't figure out why it would hurt so much. He remembered having a strange dream. Then, a thought occurred to him and he held out his hand. "Forebærnan." A small flame blossomed in his palm.

Over the next couple days, he tried more spells in his trailer and practiced reaching his magic in his downtime on set. It was exhilarating yet exhausting. A few people noticed his lowered energy levels, but he dodged their questions. He wanted to speak with Merlin first before he started telling people he had magic. He had yet to find the warlock though. Maybe on Friday he would take a walk into town and try to look for him there. But right now he needed to be down on set.

He arrived on set for the filming of the banquet scene in the third episode. The spinning wheel had not been ready during the initial filming of this scene, so they were backtracking a little. It was common that the more difficult practical effects happened after most of the episode had already been filmed in a series of pick ups.

He could see the effects team was in the process of tying Bradley to the wheel as he arrived, so he walked over.

"Comfortable there, Bradley?" he asked.

"Feelin' ready to rock and roll!" he grinned in return.

"Alright, none of these feel too tight?" Matthew asked as he checked the last knot. "Let me give you a slow spin then to check." With a barely concealed grin, he spun the actor around once, then again, before stopping himself from getting the actor too dizzy.

"Well I don't feel sick yet, but let's see how I feel after the scene is done. Try not to screw up too much, Colin."

"No promises." He smiled at his friend and then walked to his mark. He wasn't strictly needed yet, but it was easier to do reaction shots when he had already seen what he was supposed to be reacting to.

"Wonderful," Matthew suddenly said from next to Colin. "I can already tell this will be a fan favourite scene."

He smiled. "It's going to be one of my favourite ones to watch," he replied as the actor who would actually spin Bradley gave it a test spin before the cameras started.

"I wish the real Prince Arthur had been put on something like this. I would have never stopped spinning him."

"How do you know..." he trailed off as he looked back over at Matthew and the synapses in his brain started to fire and break past the remaining mental barrier. His eyes grew wide in realization. "You're Merlin?" he asked in a sharp whisper.

The warlock grinned. "The one and only."

Colin's brain couldn't seem to decide what question he wanted to ask first. Just as he chose and took a breath, the director called for all quiet on the set. His lips pressed together unhappily.

We can speak mentally, Merlin's voice sounded in his head. Less likely to be reprimanded for not paying attention too.

Show off. Colin scowled at him, but turned back to watch the action unfolding. The trickler jammed the apple in Arthur's mouth and he couldn't help but smile at Bradley's expression of surprise and confusion. You work on the set of a TV show about your own life?

Merlin chuckled mentally. Wouldn't you?

No. I can't even imagine how weird it is for you.

They watched Bradley get spun on the wheel; one of Merlin's effects people was keeping it spinning at a constant rate.

So much of my life has been fictionalised that sometimes I can't believe I lived through it. Or I have a hard time separating fact from really good fiction. In the end it is just a good story.

The trickler showed off his knives to the appreciative crowd.

So you have been here on set the whole time?

Since series one.

How many of the effects are magic?

Not as many as series one. He paused to watch Tim stick the knives into the slots in the wheel. I've become more familiar with the filmmaking process so I have picked up some more tricks to use instead of magic. No one questioned it except you. Your subconscious must have been trying to call me on my lies.

Bradley grinned over at Colin when the knife was stuck into the apple. The dragon prank was magic wasn't it?

I had so much fun with that! Colin didn't need to look over to know that Merlin was smiling.

So the dragons bowed because you were a dragonlord then?

Merlin snapped his head to Colin. "What?" he whispered, forgetting about telepathy. They bowed to me?

Pretty much anytime you passed by. I'm surprised no one picked up on that.

Huh. Together they watched the crew film a couple takes of the wheel spinning to a halt with the knife stuck into the apple.

It was going to be Colin's shot in a few moments so he regretfully excused himself to clear his mind and prepare for his scene. It would be harder than usual this time; he still had so many questions.

AN: Thanks to all of you who came back to this story. Next update should be in two weeks, October 10th. See you then.

(Remember, comment and ideas help get chapter 14 written!)