AN - Hey guys! Ooh, ooh, exiting news (for me, at least :D) O have to choose my a-levels in two weeks, and for the first time ever, they're running a creative eriting course! How cool is that! so I'm definatly taking that :D Any idea what else I should take?

(If you did) Thank you for taking part in my survey. if you havent yet, i'm gonna leave it up for another week, then take in the results, but thanks to the 8 people who alreay have ;D

Thank you to StormQueen6711, SpanaHana, Nebriniel Peredhil, Merlinisawesome, SpangleyPony, and 1983Sarah for reviewing. You are all so awesome!

Enjoy! (And don't say I didnt warn you :D)

Line - "And then there was that time I wrestled this one guy in the tavern," Gwaine said as he continued his 'gripping' story. - Cinnimania (Guest)

Disclaimer - see ch1


Arthur

There was a burst of laughter from the occupants of our table.

"And then there was that time I wrestled this one guy in the tavern," Gwaine said as he continued his 'gripping' story.

Suddenly, there was an outburst from Merlin.

"Oh, shaadup would you Gwaine?" he slurred "Just get on with the game already!"

There was another burst of laughter, and I grinned sappily. I knew I was drunk, but was just happy I'd managed to get Merlin drunk as well. Over the years, I'd realised that it was actually harder to do that than to find Gwaine sober.

Gwaine finally appeared to have finished his (very boring) lengthy tale, and we were waiting for the next line. Suddenly, I realised that it was my turn, and that everyone sat around the table was staring at me, waiting for me to speak. I thought about what I could say. Most of the other good ones had been used already.

"Never have I ever...read a book from start to finish." I said eventually.

"Really, Arthur, that's despicable." Said Merlin blandly as he drained his tankard, followed by Leon, Percival, and Elyan. Surprisingly, Gwaine drank too. Everyone started at him.

"What!" he protested when he saw us all looking at him sceptically. "It was when I researched our families, when I was looking for Merlin's, and I got distracted." Merlin looked up sleepily at the sound of his name.

"Hmmm?"

"Go back to sleep, Merlin." I laughed. He nodded sleepily.

"Okay."

Leon was looking interested. "You researched our families?" he asked Gwaine curiously. "What did you find?"

At that moment there was a loud THUMP as Merlin passed out onto the table.

"That." I said to them, suddenly realising how late it was and just how drunk we all were "is a story for the morning. Come on, up to the rooms now. We want to get a good way to Ealdor tomorrow."


I groaned as I awoke the next morning with a thumping headache. Moments later, Merlin strolled into the room, whistling merrily, and I groaned. He grinned at me.

"Good morning sire!" he said cheerfully, still grinning. I glared at him. He held out his hand towards me, palm first, and I suddenly I felt a lot better.

"What was that?" I asked warily.

"Anti-hangover magic."

"Anti-hangover magic?" I asked sceptically. He waved a hand at me distractedly.

"Technical term."

I stared at him. He ignored me.

"Ready to go down for breakfast, Arthur?" he asked me "Everyone else is already up."

"Even Gwaine?" I asked him, shocked.

"Even Gwaine." he confirmed, and then smiled. "I don't think it was entirely willing on his part, though." he said "Leon wanted answers." Suddenly I was wide awake.

"Let's go downstairs!" I said hurriedly. Merlin smirked at me.

"Shut up Merlin!" I yelled at him. He just smirked some more. I shook my head and started down the stairs, muttering about idiot warlocks and lousy Court Sorcerers.


Gwaine

By the time that Merlin had finally got Arthur downstairs, my tale was almost over.

"...and so I worked out that all of us are related, Merlin, Arthur, and I through one brother, and the rest of you through another."

There was a long silence.

"Wow." said Percival. "That really does make you sort-of-brothers, then. And you and Merlin share a surname, too!" The three of us grinned.

"And on that note," said Arthur brightly "I think it's time for breakfast. Come on I'm starved!"

"Aren't you always?" muttered Merlin, and I laughed. Sometimes, I felt, it was good to have a brother.


Soon we were off again, and as we neared Ealdor, Merlin began to point things out to us. Odd things, interesting things, and things that related to his childhood. Things that we would never have otherwise known, had he not told us of them. There was even the odd secret shortcut he pointed out to us.

I wondered how he knew so much. We were still quite a way out from Ealdor, after all. So I asked him.

"Hey Merlin? How is it you know so much about all...this?" I gestured, spreading my arms for emphasis. He grinned and shrugged.

"Magic!" he said mysteriously, and Arthur snorted.

Even though sometimes it was good to have a brother, sometimes it was also downright annoying.


Arthur

Eventually, after a day of travelling, Ealdor came into view. I saw Merlin grin as he spotted it.

Suddenly, I stopped as a thought came to me. I pulled Merlin to one side as the rest of the knights stopped for a quick rest, before the final trek tonight.

"Merlin, how much does your mum know about...everything?" I asked "I mean, obviously she knows that you have magic, but...what about everything else. And what have you told her about the...recent update in the situation?"

Merlin looked faintly guilty. I sighed.

"That means absolutely nothing at all, am I right Merlin? She knows nothing?"

Merlin nodded, still looking guilty, and I sighed again.

"In that case," I said to him "Do you want to go down on your own first, and explain a bit to her? Otherwise she might panic at seeing four knights of Camelot and the King surrounding you on her door step. She might assume..."

"...that you had caught me using magic and reacted badly." He finished, correctly interpreting what the rest of my sentence would have been. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I think it would probably be wise." He said, sounding reluctant. "I'll send you a signal – probably via Gwaine – when it's safe."

And with that, he promptly disappeared.

I sighed. "Show off!" I muttered. Gwaine came over to me, looking worried.

"Hey where's Merlin?!" he asked me, and I sighed again. Quickly, I explained the situation to him, and he nodded.

"It makes sense." He agreed, and I looked at him in shock.

"What?" he said defensively "What!"

I just laughed.


Merlin

I laughed as I rematerialised behind a dense clump of trees, near to the house where I had grown up, imaging the look on Arthur's face as I disappeared from in front of him.

I stopped laughing abruptly, however, when I rounded the clump of trees to see the villages of Ealdor being rounded up in the centre of village.

Immediately I was on my guard looking for enemies and potential threats, not only to myself and the villages, but also to Arthur. Instantly, I spotted the perpetrator.

"Mordred!" I hissed under my breath.

I had no idea why he was here, but I assumed that after my escape, he was trying to find me again.

Damn.

I quickly reversed back into the woods, and closed my eyes. I needed backup. Now.


Gwaine

I was standing next to Arthur, wondering what kind of signal exactly Merlin would give me, and more to the point, how I would get it, when suddenly i jumped about a foot into the air.

I could hear Merlin's voice inside my head.

I shivered. The last time I had heard Merlin like this, it had been just before he'd died, and I wasn't even sure if he was aware he'd done it or not.

However, worse than the method he had chosen to contact me by was the actual content of the message itself.

'Gwaine!' he thought-yelled at me 'Get Arthur and the knights down here NOW!'

I could tell by his tone that something bad must have happened, and i wasted no time in replying.

"How?" I asked him out loud, aware that Arthur was looking at me like I was a bit of an idiot, but ignoring him in favour of listening to what Merlin was saying.

Grab hold of the knights, and then think of yourself standing in front of ma and repeat these words.' He fed me a string of words, which I quickly committed to memory.

Before I could act on what he'd said, he added one final thing.

'Gwaine, I'll try to guide you, but you'll have to do moist of the actual magic yourself, and bear in mind, this will tire you out a lot'.

I nodded, even though I knew it was silly as Merlin couldn't actually see me. Arthur looked at me oddly.

"Are you okay, Gwaine?" he asked me "You've been standing there staring into space for about five minutes now."

By now the rest of the knights were crowding around, worried, but I quickly cut through their worried voices.

"No arguments." I told them "Grab hold of me. NOW!"

Arthur wasted no time in doing so, and a moment later the rest of the knights followed.

Quickly, I dragged the words from my memory and repeated them as Merlin had told me to. Instantly, I felt an odd sensation, and then relief as we landed in a clearing in front of Merlin, before promptly passing out.


Merlin

I felt worried as I disconnected from my mental contact with Gwaine. I paced around the small clearing I had found not much further from the village than the clump of trees I had landed behind.

About a minute later, Gwaine and the knights popped into the clearing, and I rushed forward to catch Gwaine as he toppled over towards me. Sparing only a second to look at Arthur and gesture to him to be absolutely silent, I quickly poured my magic through Gwaine, and then woke him up.

I quickly explained the situation the knights and Arthur, all of whom then quickly became agitated, particularly Arthur, who had obviously met my mother before.

"One more thing." I added, before they could all run, yelling, out of the clearing, to try and scare off Mordred and his minions.

"The villagers...theydon'texactlyknowaboutmymagic." I told them in a rush. "So anything I do...will have to be secret. Not to mention the fact that they're actually generally scared of magic, having lived on the border of Camelot, after all."

Before anyone could comment or say anything, I grabbed Gwaine.

"Gwaine, you're with me." I told the surprised knight, who quickly gained a look of understanding on his face.

"The rest of you, you're on your own." I told them. "But please," I told them "Be strategic."

With that, I grabbed Gwaine and together we both ran out of the clearing, but not before I heard Arthur snort in amusement at my comment.

'How was it that only last night we were sat in a tavern playing never have I ever?' I asked myself.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a good reply.


I dragged Gwaine to where we had a better view of the centre of the village. At that moment we had the advantage, as they didn't know we were there, and I fully intended to keep that advantage for as long as I could.

From our place between two of the smaller houses in Ealdor, we could see that appeared to have separated my mother and Matthew off from the others. They didn't seem to be too interested in the others, but still kept them hostages anyway. They did appear, however, to be taunting and circling my mother and Mother, making crude comments and rude gestured. My anger intensified.

"Your mother the one separated with that man?" Gwaine whispered from beside me, obviously observing my reaction to seeing them, and I nodded tersely.

"I think," I told Gwaine tensely "that it's time that these creeps met the full wrath, power and fury of Merlin Ambrosias/Emrys."

Gwaine grinned.

"Not to forget the unexpected Dragonlord and the Once and Future King." He added, and it was my turn to grin.

"The three most important figures of magical myth." I agreed "Let's bring the legends to life, shall we?"

They would never know what had hit them.


AN - sorry for ther cliffe! please review! it keeps me sane AND keeps me writing ;D

-APP